


Rise of the Order

by gothikuk



Series: Assassins Creed Kassandra [1]
Category: Assassin's Creed - All Media Types
Genre: F/F, F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-22
Updated: 2020-03-09
Packaged: 2020-12-29 03:26:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 39,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21132377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gothikuk/pseuds/gothikuk
Summary: Kassandra has been alive for three thousand years now, and has become known as the lone Assassin, on a winters night in Athens she is reunited with her little brother Alexios and comes to realise nothing is ever as it seems nor will it be again, and that with or without the staff of Hermes, her life will continue until such a time the gods have no need of her anymore.





	1. Reunions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my own visualisation of ACO. Kassandra and Alexios are immortals, true born immortals and they are still discovering what this means for them. The world will change and whilst set in places known it is not the world many will know. 
> 
> Kassandra and Alexios and the Assassins Creed setting are creations of Ubisoft and remain so, i am just playing in their sandbox

The rain came down like a flood from the almighty, it bounced off the streets and roads and created puddles so deep and wide that when cars drove through them, anyone unlucky enough to be standing on the other side of the whoosh of spray was soaked in seconds. The figure on the rooftop watched the crowd below. It was dark, it was winter and it was cold. Athens was familiar and yet not familiar. Some of its buildings were ruins from the ancient days, a stark reminder of Athens magnificent past. The hooded figure glanced back at the ruins of the Parthenon and mourned the loss of the bronze colossus of Athena that had once upon a time dominated the Athenian skyline. She had followed its trail from Athens to Constantinople and despaired as in 1203 AD it had been torn apart by rioters.

The Malaka’s had not even given it any respect they had just torn it to pieces, melted her down and now she was probably in a museum somewhere as an arrow head or coin. She was grateful that Phidias was dead by that point so he could not see what had happened to his beloved statue of the war goddess. Athens was not her native home, and her Spartan blood rebelled at the thought that she should defend a city of scholars and dramatists, but that had been three thousand years ago, now Athens was the cultural heart of Greece, her capital city. The Greeks had lived under the yoke of other cultures, much like Egypt had, but now she was her own country, her own laws and part of a greater whole. There were no more feuding state wars. Greece was simply, Greece, all Greeks were Greek, no matter where they came from. No long Spartan or Argive, or Elisan or Athenian, they were all Greek. That made her smile. Something Sokrates himself had hoped to see and even Pericles. So now she sat crouched on top of a rooftop in the hustling bustling capital city watching the crowd below. Waiting, patiently waiting.

The power of the staff had been transferred into a bracelet that she wore around her wrist, The staff of Hermes Trismegistus itself was kept in a sealed case in her home along with a lot of other things that were hers from when she walked these lands as a younger woman, when Sparta and Athens were at war with each other, with a constantly changing flux of boarders and leaders. When the Cult walked the earth.

The hooded figure came out of her musings as her keen eyesight picked out her target and making sure no one else was around she swan dived off the roof and down to ground level. A fall that would have killed any normal mortal, but she was far from mortal and far from normal. In fact, she had forgotten what it was like to have been mortal when she got passed her fifth century.

That was two and half millennia ago. Kassandra Agiad made very few friends these days, there was no joy in making friendships only to watch them wither and die with old age, while she remained eternally 25. She also missed those friendships she had made when Greece was in its cultural heyday. She cocked her head and could almost hear Alkibiades chortle at the freedom of love the world seemed to show now. Back in her youth man sleeping with man or woman with woman hardly raised a commotion and yet it had taken the modern world so long to accept what had been a natural way of life back then.

She was certain “Allie” would have thoroughly loved it here, in fact she was certain he would be checking every single bar and never going home alone. As she followed her quarry at a safe distance, she allowed a wry smile to cross her lips at the thought. She heard a siren and turned her head to see an Ambulance rush past. She thought Hippocrates would have been honoured to know the sacred oath all doctors and nurses swore in today’s medical world named after him. If he was still here, then she was certain he would have been demanding they work harder to find a cure for the diseases that had cropped up for which there was no known cure.

Kassandra dug her hands in her jacket pocket and kept her head low but still followed her quarry at a discreet distance. She paused as she passed the Athens history museum to see a talk by some woman named Alannah Ryan on Herodotus and the history of the ancient Greek world, as told by the father of history. Now that, she thought would have made the old man blush. Never one to shout his accomplishments from the tree tops, she thought her old friend would have shook off any such notion that he was the father of history, but it was true enough. She supposed.

Theatres shone their bright lights advertising the latest play or musical and she thought of Aristophanes and Euripides, she didn’t pay any mind to Sophocles, the man was an arrogant ass and she barely gave him any thought and she was certain that had he known about it, the thought he was considered one of the greatest playwrights to have ever walked the earth would have fed that damn ego of his to over inflated status.

Her quarry ducked down a side road and was it seemed heading for the old city. It was only when she passed the Academy of Athens and a lightning strike lit up the massive statue of Sokrates that she paused. What she would not give to hear his voice asking his endless questions again. When the war against Sparta ended Sokrates’ nature made him a scapegoat for all of Athens problems. Eventually his luck ran out and he was tried and executed by drinking hemlock. Kassandra could not believe they would execute such a man as he, and it was then she realised that the Cult of Kosmos had never really died. That Aspasia’s word’s a world united under a philosopher king was a load of horse shit. She had tracked down his accusers and eliminated them one by one, only to discover that the Cult and the Order of the Ancients had merged into one.

Of Aspasia she never found any trail. It was a search that had taken her across the Greek world and beyond, eventually giving up the search. Kassandra clenched her fist and the tip of her spear unsheathed from the wrist guard. The wood had long since rotted but the head had been placed into a wrist mount, fashioned by one of the Hidden Ones, some two thousand years ago. Her quarry was a politician, one that was connected to the new Order, the order of the Templars, who now called themselves Abstergo. Walking upto him she patted his shoulder and, as he turned, she drove the spear into his neck. “Gaia, mother of all I greet you” She whispered and let his body fall into a side alley, walking away at the same casual pace she had when entering the alley.

Kassandra heard the footsteps behind her and turned her head slightly, as if looking in the direction of the Acropolis. When she stopped to look in a shop window her shadow stopped too. Well whomever this was, was no member of the Order, she had given them plenty of opportunities to kill her as walked casually along the street, even going into alleys and secluded places that would have been ripe for assassination attempts.

Eventually she came to the theatre of Dionysus. A shell of its former self but still held as much awe for her as it did when it was whole. She sat herself on the rain soaked remains and waited. “If you are going to kill me, I suggest using quieter shoes.” She called out.

“If I wanted to kill you sister, I would have done before now.”

Kassandra frowned and turned her head at the deep voice behind her and got to her feet “Alexios?”

His hair was longer, still styled in that braided style he had favoured back when the world was better and not so polluted. Kassandra had never found out what happened to him. The last time she had seen him was their mother’s funeral pyre. Her ashes placed with Nikolaos’s and Leonidas himself. After their father had died Stentor had left. Which hadn’t been a bad thing, Kassandra had never seen eye to with her adoptive brother, truth be told Stentor had been jealous of how much attention Nikolaos gave Kassandra, even after their family had been reunited, Nikolaos had wanted to spar with his daughter, whom he had loudly proclaimed one night to be the pride of his family and she had brought his family glory.

Alexios and Kassandra had reconnected, but it had taken years for him to be free of the conditioning of the cult. Last, she had heard he had gone to Macedonia, after that she lost track of him. Until now. The thought that he was here, immortal like she was, was too overwhelming and she almost stumbled. Alexios caught her, the barest hint of a smile on his otherwise solemn face. “You are soaked big sister, let’s get you someplace dry, then we can talk.”


	2. At my brothers home.

Alexios’s apartment stood along the Piraeus. Top floor and from here he had a view that took her breath away. Looking beyond where the luxury cruise ships were docked, either ready to continue onto their next destination, or, starting their destinations. As she stood in a robe drying her hair, Kassandra could see the Ionian Sea and Salamis beyond.

The boats were, impressive, and they looked like floating cities these days, but she still missed the sights of the Triremes and the Biremes coming and going. Kassandra scowled and shook her head of the ennui that threatened to overwhelm her. This was why she lived outside a town, sometimes, sometimes seeing how far man had come either made her long for the old days, or want to throw up at the cruelty and depravity that some humans went to.

_Beautiful oceans, wonderous lands, and blood in the water, the gods save us from humankind Kassandra._

“You were not wrong, old friend.” She whispered as the ghost of Barnabas’s words echoed in her mind.

“Beautiful sight, is it not?” Alexios interrupted her musings and held out a large mug of steaming hot coffee.

Kassandra thanked her brother and took a sip, raising an eyebrow as she tasted a nip of Whisky snuggled within the liquid. Now she could see him in a better light, she saw how he had changed. In many ways he looked like their grandfather, the same steely determination in his brown eyes, had things been different, and Alexios had not been thrown from the mountain, he would have made a great King, maybe even greater than their Grandfather, although she was not sure if he would have been happy ruling alongside Archidamos, especially as their mater gave the man a broken nose. Still he would have been a great King and Kassandra would have been his favoured General. Even Nikolaos had said as much once night over dinner, another thing that Stentor had pouted about.

“That will keep the cold from your chest.” He grinned patting her shoulder and sitting himself down.

Alexios’s apartment was not full of the possessions that others might have had in a place such as this, nor was it exactly, Spartan. He had comfort and the things many had just not in over abundance. As she looked around, she got the idea that her little brother had moved comfortably with the times. Although as she looked in the alcove, she saw a small figurine to Zeus and Athena in a decorated corner. That made her smile. It was said that gods died once there was no one left to worship them.

It warmed her heart to see her brother kept to the old faith. Unlike others of their times, the Agiad siblings did not put stock in every action being the action of the gods, but they did believe that they were around them. Despite knowing the truth of such matters, it was such a core of who they were, to change from being pagan to Christian would have destroyed everything within them. She paid respect to the religion that had risen from an enigmatic, charismatic man, crucified by the Romans, but, like her brother it seemed judging by the framed pictures on his wall of him with men in uniforms through various wars, she was not swayed into the belief and saw humankind for what it truly was. Cruel and heartless to their own kind.

“So, what have you been doing?” She asked “Aside from continuing the Spartan warrior traditions” She motioned at the photos.

“You want to hear all of it, that might take some time Eagle-Bearer.” Alexios teased.

Kassandra sat beside him and shoved his shoulder playfully, it had been a long, long time since anyone had called her that. “I have the time if you want to tell me.” She would not call him Deimos. That would bring too much pain to both and Alexios had worked so hard to shed that image.

Alexios smirked and put his feet up on the coffee table, if his mother was still here, she might have swatted his legs off the thing. “I moved to Macedonia, stayed out of the public eye but hunted down any remaining Cult of Kosmos who had saw fit to scurry there like rats. You may have cut the heads off sister, but they still had followers, ready to rise up and take the sages places.”

Kassandra nodded a little, like any cult or organisation, there would always be others carrying on the war in the shadows.

“I managed to find a woman, marry and settle down.” He smiled a little at the thought “Anthea was, a beautiful woman, she died in childbirth and my son died soon after.” His brow creased a little and Kassandra’s face fell, her hand rested on her brothers’ arm. Alexios shrugged a little, when he realised, he was immortal he had been more, careful about his relationships. He had to be it would have been too painful to have remained as he was, while his partner grew old and died. 

“I am sorry Alexios” Kassandra whispered.

“Not so far from what happened to you, right Kass?” He looked at her “You had to give up your son to protect him. Did you ever become a mother again?”

Kassandra nodded “I had a daughter whom I named Phoibe, and another son who I named Nikolaos” She looked at her brother “but once again the Order caught up with me and I left them in the care of the Brotherhood. I had to or they would have been taken and brainwashed like you were or, killed as a threat. After that I never settled again, in that way.” 

“Greek?” he asked.

“No, English. Born at a time when the Vikings roamed the waves.”

Alexios laughed a little and nodded “Were they the children of Vikings then?”

Kassandra nodded “I nursed their Pater back to health when he stumbled across my small farm. The fact I beat his ass a couple of times when he tried to kill me for being in the way helped. He said I was a daughter of Thor with my thunder and my skill.” She sipped some coffee “I took that as a compliment.” She ran her finger around the rim of her cup “when the children were 6 and 4 some of the Orders soldiers came to our village and slaughtered everyone, my husband included, there were some of the brotherhood living there and they came to warn me. I helped them get rid of the orders sheep and gave them my children to look after. I kept tabs on them for a few years before time took its inevitable journey for me.” She did not know what happened after she left the islands, but she knew that her son and daughter were the ancestors of the Fry twins. “But enough I was asking about you.”

Alexios put his larger hand over his sisters and laced his fingers through, his way of offering her some comfort, even now he understood how it felt to feel such a loss, his sister it seemed had not only suffered it once with having to send Elpidious away with Darius, but again much, much later.

“I watched the rise of an Empire in Alexander of Macedonia, I had to laugh when they all said he was the son of Zeus.”

“Yes, I seem to remember they called both of us the children of Zeus or Ares or Athena, depending on where were went at the time.” She pulled a face, the truth was more than that, both her and Alexios were hybrids, children of the Isu or something like that, she did not pretend to know all of it, that would have taken a mind like Socrates to work out.

“I rode in his army for a time, when he became Pharaoh of Egypt I moved on. Went to Rome and saw the Empire rise to conquer the world, and was approached by the Hidden Ones to work for them, as my family line dictated.” He glanced at her “You have a lot to answer for sister.” Kassandra shrugged, “They seemed to know who I was, didn’t matter how many times I used the old adage I was merely a descendant, their hierarchy seemed to know I was the real Alexios, the real Deimos.” Kassandra flinched visibly at the mention from his lips of that name. “Oh, come now sister, I shed that old image, it is a name I still use, but only when I am working.”

It, was a relief to hear but still, it was not a name she cared for but, if Alexios was comfortable with it then who was she to tell him what to do and what not to do. It was the only name he had known for over two decades after all.

“So, I have fought in every battle, every war, seen the cruelty of man to its extremes and I have always, always been behind your big sister, watching over you without you knowing it.”

Kassandra nodded twice; the way Barnabas would do when something made sense to him. She had always had the feeling someone was watching over her. She just never knew who. It was until now that is.

“So, when did the Cult become on with the Order and the Order become the Templars?” She asked her brother. It was something she had never been able to work out. Usually there was a pattern that she could work out, but Kassandra had never been able to work out the dots to their inevitable conclusion.

Alexios let go of his sisters’ hand, took her mug and went to make a refill, or so she thought, instead he returned with two glasses and a large bottle of Ouzo. He poured two healthy measures into the glasses and handed her hers, before sitting back beside her.

“It was after you spoke to Aspasia.” Alexios told her and Kassandra made a snarling sound at the back of her throat. “She approached the order and made them an offer. The Cult operated on its own for another century then finally, they merged into the Order of the Ancients in charge of Greek and Roman operations.”

“So, when did they go from mask wearing fanatics to an order of Knights of god?” Kassandra asked.

“When they realised that wearing masks and their goals were no longer in alignment with the world as it changed. The Templars were the better option. You fought in the crusade’s sister, you know how much the knights of god and their other Crusaders gathered vast wealth in the lands they call the Holy Lands. The Templars and the others banded together each led by a member of the Order.

Eventually when the other orders crumbled and were wiped out by the assassins of Altair, the Templars were the only ones left.”

“And for centuries they have flourished?”

“Oh yeah. When they were put to the death by King Philip of France, he only put a small number of their order to death. The rest had scattered all over the world and the rest you know sister. They are now one of the richest corporations in the world. Killing to keep their secrets and fighting the eternal chess game between themselves and the Brotherhood.”

Kassandra swallowed some Ouzo, coughed a little and set the glass down, much to her brother amusement. It had been a while since she had last had this stuff neat, and the memory of that night made her head spin thinking about it. “Aspasia said she wanted to see the rise of a Philosopher King” Kassandra hoarsely said and thumped her chest a little.

“She was talking about Plato” Alexios said “Of course the artefact showed her Plato’s rise, he was just a boy when she was an adult and hadn’t yet become the greatest mind of his time.” Alexios had always had a better grasp of how the artefact under Apollo’s Temple worked then she did. “Or to be exact his theories on the perfect King and the perfect republic with the perfect gene enhanced citizens.”

“And there were those who blamed his views for the rise of men like Hitler and Stalin.” Kassandra sighed heavily. “Amazing how Tyrants take the words of the ancients to make their sick fantasies justified.”

“Just like the Isu I suppose.” Alexios sipped his drink “Or rather like Juno.”

Kassandra made a murmur of agreement but didn’t say much on it. She had enough of the Isu’s machinations three thousand years ago, she had learnt since then, that Juno had been manipulating certain elements of the Brotherhood for centuries. Altair, Ezio, Edward Kenway, Desmond Miles to name but a few. Poseidon’s measures, it seemed were not enough.

“I heard there has been a shake up at Abstergo, following Layla Hussain’s departure.” Kassandra mused “they have become more, militaristic in their approaches.”

Alexios nodded a little. “They have, but whoever is head of Abstergo now, goes to great lengths to hide their identity or identities.” Alexios lay his head back and turned it to the side. “So, what did happen to the Andrestia?”

Kassandra smirked a little “She is in a time trapped cave under my home in Gytheion.” She mirrored her brothers’ posture. “When Barnabas died it didn’t seem right to sail her. So, I found a large cave, built a dock and Athena collapsed the entrance after I left. If the cave is opened to the elements then she will crumble and succumb to the vileness in the air now.” Kassandra took a swallow of her drink getting used to the taste. “Her last voyage was to Mykonos; his daughter and granddaughter and grandson were there when I brought him home. Hopefully he is with his wife now in Elysium,” Kassandra’s voice almost cracked at the mention of a man who had been not only her friend but a father figure to her.

His advice had always been invaluable to her, and when she was in her darkest moments in her long life, she thought she heard his voice in her head, offering her his own brand of wisdom. It might be wrapped up in tales of myths and legend, but behind his own beliefs there was always a wisdom he never admitted to. She had kept the gods at a distance, she had never felt like they had done her any favours, but Barnabas always kept the faith for both, even yelling at her once to not disrespect the gods.

That was when she realised that even if people thought him to be a simple man with a deep respect and love of the gods, he was in truth a very intelligent man. Even Herodotus admitted that if all men thought like Barnabas then the world would be a brighter place.

“Did any tale that old sea dog tell you ever ring true?” Alexios asked with slight amusement.

“Oh yes.” Kassandra smiled “most of them. Herodotus even believed him after I fought the Minotaur under the palace of Knossos.”

“You fought the Minotaur?” Alexios sat up. “It still existed even after Theseus killed it?”

“I think it might have been a son of the Minotaur, lets face it, many young women were trapped down there with it and it had … urges”

Alexios pulled a face, although come to think of it, if Zeus could impregnate Leda when he was a swan then whose to say it wasn’t what it was.

“Then I fought a cyclops with a deranged man who believed he was the brother of the gods, until he became squishy red paste on the floor.” Kassandra rolled her eyes at the thought, Alexios laughed. “After that I encountered the Sphinx and answered one of her riddles and finally, I met Medusa or a carnation of Medusa.”

“But Perseus slayed Medusa” Alexios frowned.

“Yes, but it would appear that any woman approaching the body to get a trophy or a keepsake became Medusa.” Kassandra explained, “The real Medusa was dead, but the writhing dead lived on in the misdeeds of others.”

“So, after Perseus killed Medusa, one of his female companions wanted a trophy?”

“So it goes, when Pegasus came from her blood and Perseus returned with the head of Medusa wrapped, as her stare even after death could still turn man to stone, Anesia wanted a trophy to take home to Naxos, but the power of Medusa was so great that the moment she adored the trinket she took, she became Medusa.”

“So, who did you fight then if it was not the real Medusa?”

“A Daughter of Artemis who killed her lover. I buried them both in the temple where they died and planted a rose for them both.” Kassandra investigated her glass and drank so more. She was silent for a while, a long while and when Alexios glanced over he saw that she had fallen asleep.

Setting his glass down, he got up and gently lifted his sister into his arms and carried her through to the spare room. He lay her in bed, took her robe off and covered her over. He brushed her fringe from her eyes and bending down kissed her forehead. “Sleep big sister, for we are both going to have harsh times ahead of us.” He whispered “May Morpheus only bring you pleasant dreams.”

He walked to the door, looked back over his shoulder for a moment and closed the door behind him.


	3. The most powerful man in the world.

_Sparta, Laconia, the home of Myrrine and Nikolaos, 428BCE_

_The stars looked bright tonight, the air clean and all around them they could hear the night birds sing and the wolves howl. Kassandra sat on a seat with her father, just enjoying the sounds of the night. Her head rested on Nikolaos’s broad shoulder, it didn’t matter that his once jet-black hair was now grey and the time of war spoke in his eyes more than any words could. He was still broad of shoulder and strong. He had made his peace with the siblings he had called his own, although he doubted Alexios would ever really, truly forgive him for allowing the Ephors to throw him off a cliff. Still, they were here, a family again. _

_“Tell me, where did you go with your brothers this time?” Nikolaos asked in that deep measured tone of his. _

_Kassandra raised her head and cricked her neck a little. “Stentor wanted to see Crete, so that is where I took him. He wanted to see the labyrinth of the Minotaur and insisted on going inside.” _

_“Did he see the Minotaur?” Nikolaos asked. _

_“No, the Minotaur is dead Pater, all he found were old skeletons and long dried bull shit.” She shrugged “He has a real problem with believing what I say, and don’t get me started on what he keeps calling the Andrastia.” _

_“Heh, I am sure Barnabas put him in his place.” _

_“Yes, well Stentor needs to remember that Barnabas was not always a merchant, he fought in the Athenian Navy for some years.”_

_“That is why he tests. The old hatreds.” Nikolaos investigated his cup of wine and looked to be plucking up the courage to ask something he would never have dreamed of asking his daughter otherwise. “Tell me about the child.” He whispered. _

_Kassandra stiffened a little, she had never told her parents about Elpidious, she had only told Alexios and when she went to ask how he knew she realised she didn’t have to, Nikolaos knew her better then she thought he did. _

_“He is safe Pater, away from the Order and the remnants of the Cult.”_

_“Did you love his father?” _

_“No” Kassandra admitted. She had never loved Natakas, never wanted to love him either. A drunken night had resulted in her falling pregnant with her son. Truth be told Kassandra preferred to keep her bed roll warm with another of her gender, but occasionally she slept with men, when she felt the need to. That was just sex to her nothing more nothing less, a means to loosen her knots as it were. _

_“Will I ever see my grandson?” Nikolaos quietly asked. _

_Kassandra shook her head sadly. “No pater, he is with his other grandfather out there somewhere, safe. I will never see him again.” Her throat tightened, she might not have loved his father but she had most certainly loved him, and the parting words she had given to Darius that day, still rang true in her ears. Darius had offered to write to her, to tell her how her son was doing but she had told him no. Messages could be intercepted better this order of ancients believe he is dead. _

_She lay her hand on her fathers’ arm “But rest assured pater he is as much Spartan as he is Persian.” _

_“How so?”_

_“He eats like a Spartan, he has the temperament of a Spartan, trust me I have not forgotten the amount of times he has thrown a baby tantrum to get what he wanted.” _

_Nikolaos laughed and moved his arm up and around Kassandra’s shoulders “I told you once, in this very yard, that you would bring glory to our family. That you were my pride, I meant every word I said Kassandra.” _

_“You must be proud of Stentor too, you took him into your home,”_

_“He still has much to learn, patience being one of them. Now he thinks he is the son of a King.” Nikolaos motioned with his head to where the top of Leonidas’s statue could be seen from their garden. “Upsetting Lysander is not a good thing to do.”_

_“He will learn father.” She muttered trying to keep the venom from her voice. _

_Truth be told she found her brother to be, trying and tiresome. Might have something to do with when he sought to humble her in front of pater, mater and Alexios he came off worse. Even without weapons Kassandra was a force of nature, she had won the Pankration after all, and now she worked for the Kings of Sparta, chasing down any remaining Cult members, so that they never again threaten the lands of Herakles’s and his children. There had been calls for her to take the second throne, as a child of Leonidas, she had refused. Alexios had refused and so, it had gone to her uncles’ line. Her mothers brother. _

_“What was grandmother like, I only ever remember seeing her twice?” Kassandra asked, wanting to get away from the subject of her adopted brother. _

_“Gorgo? Oh, much like your mother. In fact, both you and Alexios inherited her blunt nature and her strength, double that for your grandfather.” Nikolaos smirked “Truth be told, Gorgo terrified me.” _

_Kassandra uttered a strangled laugh “Really?”_

_“Hmm, when I married your mother, her father had been gone for a year. Gorgo made sure I ran the trials of Herakles to ensure I was good enough for her only daughter. That I had the strength of will to handle the only daughter of King Leonidas and Queen Gorgo, her brother was the same. I was not scared of her brother, I feared Gorgo.” Nikolaos smiled wryly and added “Until you came along, my biggest fear was losing your mother; but your courage and strength allowed you to survive and become the woman you are, it is why the people of Sparta call for you to be queen.”_

_“I would not be a very good queen Pater”_

_“You’d be a warrior queen my daughter.” He kissed the top of her head “My pride and my joy. There is much ahead for you to still do but for now enjoy your time at home, before Barnabas takes you away from me again.”_

_Kassandra closed her eyes as her father kissed her forehead, Pythagoras might well have created her and Alexios, but Nikolaos had been her father and she would only ever call him pater, not some old man who had been driven mad by the staff and a lust for power that she was glad she had culled. _

_Neither father nor daughter saw the shadowed figure listening into their conversastion and the hate on his face was as readable as Hekate’s moon. He should be the next King of Sparta not some renegade who had killed and Ephor and brought shame to his pater._

_He was a Spartan and she merely pretended to be that which she no longer was, _

_“Listening into a private conversastion Stentor?” Alexios came up behind him munching on an apple. _

_There was another thorn in his foot, a weapon of the cult, the cult that had, it seemed, not wanted him at all within its ranks they had only wanted to use him to get to Nikolaos. Alexios had a presence around him that, even with the passage of time, just made people fear him, and how was it they did not age a day? They had not aged a single day since Stentor met them._

_Stentor had tried to get Alexios to see things from his point of view, but Alexios would not hear a word said against the sister who had managed to bring him back from madness. Instead of pushing them apart, it seemed they had only grown closer. _

_Stentor said nothing, his silence answering Alexios’s question. The older man chuckled and went to join his father and sister. “So, pater, when do I get to meet Aegis’s daughter?” _

_Nikolaos turned and laughed as his son walked towards them, nodding at his sister. It had taken a long time for Alexios to call Nikolaos pater, and when he did the old mans heart soured fit to burst. Alexios sat the other side of his father and continued munching on an apple, tossing one from his pocket to Kassandra. _

_“Your mother would be pleased to hear you ask such a thing my son.”_

_“I wasn’t asking for me pater, I was asking for Stentor” he motioned over his shoulder to where the other son was stood skulking in the shadows “he needs a strong woman, I have enough of them around me to deal with. The gods forbid I be married to a headstrong Spartan woman.” _

_“Stentor would not be approved of such a match yet.” Nikolaos admitted quietly “he has come far and he is a pride to me, but the King would not agree to such a match. He has yet to prove himself alone without either of you helping him.” _

_“Someone has to help him pater,” Alexios grinned at his sister, such a strange thing to see on the once brainwashed super soldier of the cult, it was enough to send a shiver up the old man’s spine. Alexios was a predator of men, he killed as quickly and efficiently as his older sister and he was feared in the mercenary world they both called home. _

_Kassandra was the Eagle-Bearer and Alexios was Deimos. The few Misthios’s that Nikolaos knew said that not many ever took any bounty placed on their heads, and those who did died within moments of trying to take it. _

_“Why is that?” The old man asked. _

_“He’ll never win else, too busy living in your shadow and feasting on your glories pater.” Alexios bluntly said. _

_“and you say I have grandmother’s bluntness.” Kassandra took a bite of her apple “I think that accolade goes to Alexios. Come join us brother, unless listening at walls is what you do best?” _

_Instead Stentor turned and walked away. Nikolaos went to go after him but Alexios stopped him, “He doesn’t need coddling father, he is a Spartan, he should deal with it, as a Spartan.” _

Abstergo European Headquarters, Paris, France, 2018.

The snow continued to fall but to the figure watching from the windows of his office it was nothing more then the cleansing of the old. He liked the snow, it had a pure quality about it, and it was deceptive. He had seen more than his fare share of friends caught in the avalanches that fell from the mountains when he had been skiing.

He sipped his brandy and stood naked. His olive complexion scarred by many battles. The dream he had woken from had him angry as he got up, looking out the window at the falling snow had calmed him. He stroked his beard and lit a cigar, inhaling its fine scent. His body toned and muscled the scars from wars long forgotten. News had reached him that evening of his agents’ death in Athens, he did not care, if the man could not be counted on to look over his shoulder every now and then, then he did not deserve to live. If he had survived then the new CEO of Abstergo would have most certainly thrown him off Mount Taygetos himself.

He poured himself another drink and walked into his bedroom and stood, staring at his reflection in the full-length mirror. Of all the scars he had, one stood stark on his face, a fine line that almost cut his left eye out. And two other lines that crossed the first. It had marred his once handsome features and that mark alone had spoken Coward. The mark of a Coward and it had driven him from his home. Driven him from his men and from the only life he had known.

He stroked the scar and heard the woman’s voice behind him. “Are you coming back to bed?” she called.

He ignored her, he had fucked her for several hours, she should be asleep by now. He continued looking at his reflection. Dark black hair with dark blue eyes. Tattoos covered his arms and legs, a couple on his neck. He felt no pain, he felt no love, he was emotionally dead. The only thing that he did feel was vengeance, a need for vengeance and his anger was known to all those who worked for him. Fail him and you never got a second chance, your contract was ended, permanently.

Abstergo had been letting the Brotherhood get the better of them the last few years, that would not be tolerated, his predecessors had no idea how the world worked nor would they, they were only ever interested in what they could get out of it. Every Isu artefact they had found they had lost because the Brotherhood had got there first.

He had every computer destroyed and had new ones installed, he had gone through the family files of the Abstergo employees who had left, and had them killed. He had done it himself, to show his men and women what he expected. Ruthless and hard hearted the new CEO then dispatched his predecessors with a bloody and gory efficiency. If Abstergo was to work it needed new direction and anything of the old would only hinder what he had planned.

He took out the investigation teams’ leaders and installed new commanders, all who would not baulk at any task they had to do. They were not Knights of God any longer, there were no such thing as gods. They were the future, the means to control the world in a way it was needed and only he could do that.

Over the last few years he had gained his reputation and now, no one crossed him. The penalty for not doing as he ordered was enough to ensure loyalty through fear.

“I said, are you coming back to bed?”

He looked in the mirror to see his bed partner for the night standing there in all her naked glory. Getting up he put his hand under her chin and pushed her against the wall, his hand tightening around her throat, her eyes bulged as she scrabbled at his fingers, crushing the breath from her.

“Don’t ever, tell me what to do” He snarled into her face “I do not take orders from you, and I do not take orders from women at all, are we clear on this?” She nodded still trying to break free from his grip.

He watched her for a moment, fascinated by the way her skin started turning blue, the way her eye sockets bulged and the slight gasping sounds as her lungs fought to draw breath. He could find another; this one had done her part. Still holding her by her throat he moved to the doors that opened onto a balcony over looking the ancient city below.

“I never listen to a woman anyway and you have outlived my need for your body.” And with that he tossed her over the edge and watched as her dying scream echoed for a bit then cut off as her body hit the ground below, her bones shattering, her head splitting open like a ripe melon and her brains decorating the pavement below.

He closed the doors and rolled his neck around and his shoulders, the bone cracking a little. The thin smile crossed his face and he glanced at himself in the mirror once more.

The features of Stentor Lyconia stared back at him.


	4. The armour of the Wolf

Kassandra came out of her shower and scowled as her door bell rang a few times. She had returned from Athens a couple of days opting to buy a change of clothes and underwear, and spend some time with her brother. Even a couple of days in Alexios’s company had brightened her mood. A light dusting of snow had fallen in the night, but by mid-morning it had gone. She was lucky, she didn’t get much in the way of the white stuff, and winters were mild here, not so much in Athens and the surrounding lands. She supposed it was because they were closer to Persia here, no not Persia, not anymore anyway, now it was Iran and Iraq and Libya, all that remained of the once might Persian empire.

She pulled her robe around her and called out for whomever was ringing her bell so instantly to hold their horses. An Eaglet sat on a perch bobbing his head. “You can be quiet Alcinous.”

For a time, Kassandra had done without an Eagle, but they just kept finding their way to her. It was as if Zeus himself was telling her she would always need an Ikarus, even if Ikarus himself was long dead. She opened her door to see a woman dressed in a suit, although the tie she wore was halfway down her shirt. The top two buttons undone leaving nothing to the imagination.

“Helena.” Kassandra left her door opened and went back inside “What brings you here?”

“Well you don’t have a cell phone that I can use to call you.” The American woman chided “you never answer your phone and I can’t get you on IM, so when all else fails, come to the door of Professor Kassandra Agiad.” She followed Kassandra into her library and gasped, as she always did when she came in here.

Kassandra’s home was an archaeologist’s dream, a home she had built centuries ago and expanded upon over the years. In tall cases stood suits of armour that Helena had only ever seen pictures off. A Mycenaean suit of armour, an armour set that was called snake armour, beside that a suit of armour that was believed to have been worn by King Agamemnon himself. Next to that stood a suit of armour called Amazon armour, believed to have been worn by the great Amazon general Antiope, and beside that was a suit of armour said to have been worn by Achilles himself.

She walked round the room, an Athenian hero set of armour, Spartan hero, and many others all kept in pristine condition as if they were only constructed yesterday. Kept in air tight containers. On the walls in glass cases were weapons not seen since the classical age, swords, javelins and bows. She saw the staff in a container all its own.

“Is that the staff of Hermes?” Helena asked in awe as she approached it.

“A replica.” Kassandra told her as she came back into the room dressed, pulling a jumper on as she did. “The original Staff has been lost for centuries, I found that one in Acre about five years ago.” Lying was so easy these days. It was as natural to her as breathing.

“Some of those weapons though Kassandra, how long did it take you to restore them, they are beautiful.”

“Many hours.” She handed Helena a coffee “and I do not have a mobile phone because I do not have need of one. I never have, although my brother gave me one a couple of days ago. He said it would allow us to keep in touch now.” She picked up the Samsung 10 and set it on the table.

“I never knew you had a brother.”

“We have not seen each other for a long time.” Kassandra put one of the books she had been reading the night before away. “So, aside ogling my collection again, what do you want?” Kassandra’s voice was bored. There was a reason she lived here.

The American was attractive, there was no denying it. Her blonde hair sat in a loose ponytail to the mid of her back and her blue eyes danced with mischief and excitement. She had a figure that men would kill for but she never really showed any interest in men, not that Kassandra took an awful lot of notice of the woman’s likes and dislikes.

“We had an old set of armour donated to the museum, arrived this morning, they claim it is the armour worn by Leonidas at the battle of Thermopylae”

That got Kassandra’s attention. She stopped what she was doing and looked at Helena with an expression of interest. “Where did it come from?” She asked cautiously. If it was her grandfathers armour, then it would be in bad shape by now.

“Come on I’ll drive.” Helena grinned “I just know you are going to love this. Everyone is waiting for you to confirm its authenticity.”

Kassandra grabbed her jacket looked at the Eaglet and pointed “You be good till I come home.” 

The Antiquities department of the Spartan history museum was one of the most respected museums in Greece, there was not just Spartan history here, but many artefacts housed here came from the time of the Mycenaeans and other former city states. Outside of Athens it housed many of the countries treasured items. Kassandra was regarded as one of the foremost experts on ancient classical history and one of the Museums top restorers.

The car drive from Gytheion took about 40 mins, although if Kassandra was on her own it would take her a little less. Especially the way she drove, but it was nice to have someone else drive for a change. She put her sunglasses on as the winter sun shone bright in her eyes. She listened as Helena chattered on, the music in the car some sort of American band that she knew nothing about. She tuned it out. Watching the waters of the Gulf of Laconia with the fishing boats sitting out in the gulf. She had seen so many of them come back with sharks strapped to the side of their boats when she would come into port with the Andrastia. Sharks had at one point been quite a sight in the gulf back in her day. There were still sharks out there but not the sizes they had been when she was younger, they were quite big then.

There had been great white sharks then, but nowadays there were Thresher Sharks, Mako’s and Bull Sharks. She should know some of those sharks tried to make a meal of her when she went treasure hunting in deep wrecks. Not many Sharks came into the Gulf nowadays, the coastguards saw to that.

_“You look troubled Kassandra”_

_“I know this port Barnabas.”_

_“A bird always knows where its nest is Kassandra, it may be away for years but, it will always know where to come home.” _

She smiled to herself and rested her head against the window for a moment. “I can’t believe we might well have the armour of Leonidas in our museum.” Helens excited voice broke into Kassandra’s thoughts.

“You realise it might be a fake don’t you” Kassandra told her sitting up.

“Why would someone send us the armour of Leonidas if it was not Leonidas’s armour?”

“it’s easy to think that every piece of armour that they find that is off Spartan design, could be the old Kings armour. Depends where they got it from and how they got it, more to the point. That and Leonidas would have been buried in his armour.” Kassandra turned her head “but we’ll see when we get there. Has it been age dated?”

“Yep Professor Aganiantis carbon dated it last week, it does come from the right time period and it is Spartan.” Helena confirmed.

“Well even if is it not Leonidas’s armour then it is still a remarkable donation.”

Kassandra fell silent once more wondering who would have got their hands on such a piece of antiquity, in military collectors’ terms, it would have been a priceless find. The museum would have made some sort of payment but even so, the Greek government were strict on things like this, ever since the British stole what they called the Elgin Marbles.

Kassandra stood looking at the armour, for a long time. Wondering if it was even possible. Her grandfather would have had a set of armour for battle, two come to think of it, and one for ceremonial duties. Feast days for the gods, funerals for the fallen, anything like that. So, once she had put her gloves on, she picked a brush up and began to uncover the cloak clasp. Helena and Kristof Aganiantis were with her watching her work.

“What are you looking for Kassandra?” Kristoff asked. He was a tall slender man, bespectacled and well spoken, educated at the University of Athens but, like Kassandra he had been born in Sparta and to be able to work here when he could have had his pick of the worlds prestigious museums was an honour for him.

“If this is Leonidas’s armour,” She told him “the clasp would have the symbol of the house of Agiad on it.”

“You are descended from royalty then?” Helena asked.

“Somewhere along the line, it is an old Greek name.” Kassandra shrugged “Not that it matters much nowadays, Greece no longer has a royal family. I believe the last one married the British Queen.” She glanced over her shoulder and smiled a little. Although one prediction of Aspasia’s had come true. Greece had eventually become a Republic.

Whilst cleaning the clasp she stopped and frowned a little, putting the brush down she picked up a pair of tweezers and very, very carefully, so as not to damage the clasp or the armour underneath, she removed a thin sliver of hair from the clasps edge. Going over to her microscope, she placed the hair on a slide, another on top and then under the scope it went. Brown fur, brown wolf fur…. Kassandra almost fell off her chair and she looked again, to make sure she was correct. The original cloak was long gone that much was obvious but, the fur was enough to tell her whose armour that was.

She ignored the quizzical looks she got from her companions and moved the brush a little faster, stopping only when she saw the wolfs head look back at her.

“This is not the armour of Leonidas I” she told them, “This is the armour of the Wolf of Sparta.”

“General Nikolaos?” Kristof almost jumped out of his seat “The man who could have ended the Athens Sparta war? One of the greatest war heroes since Leonidas?” Kristof was by Kassandra’s side as she stepped to one side to allow him to look. “Good god, do you know what this means Kassandra? Proof that the Wolf of Sparta existed, that he was not a myth conjured up by historians to explain away some of Sparta’s victories over the Athenians, especially in Megaris.”

_That only happened because I killed the Athenian leader of Megaris and stole the national chest, burnt some resources and killed more men on the field of battle then his soldiers. _Kassandra thought, but nodded instead.

“Err who was the Wolf of Sparta?” Helena raised her hand like she was at school “for the non-native Greek in the room.”

“Nikolaos of Sparta was perhaps one of the greatest Generals of Sparta during the Peloponnesian war.” Kristoff explained as Kassandra stared at the clasp. “He was a military genius, a master of the battlefield. They said had he not mysteriously vanished, then he would have ended the war within three months.”

“He was also Leonidas’s son in law.” Kassandra finally spoke. Still staring at the clasp. “Married to Myrrine and father to her two children” She didn’t say the names, “The Pythia decreed that the son would bring the downfall of Sparta and was slated to be thrown off Taygetos.” Kristoff sat himself down and Helena stared in shock, her mouth open. “The daughter, wanting to protect her baby brother ran at the Ephor and knocked both him and her brother over the edge of the Mountain. As punishment the Ephors decreed that she also be thrown over and Nikolaos was the man to do it.” She shook her head for a moment, it looked like it might have been sorrow, “Myrrine and Nikolaos parted ways and he adopted a young Spartan boy into his house.”

She ran her fingertips over the clasp, amazed that something so old could have arrived in such good condition. She could feel the wolfs head under her fingertips.

_“Kassandra, beware of snakes in the grass.” _

“They, they really did throw babies and children off that mountain?” Helena asked “I thought it was a myth.”

Kassandra moved her hand back “Several years ago, a dig I was on up there, revealed the mass grave of too many children’s bones.” She shuddered at the thought. The whole of her team had stopped work then and prayers had been said for the ancient departed. Kassandra had walked away for a while. The memories too vivid for her, they still were even now.

“But why? My god that is so barbaric!”

“Helena, you have to remember that Sparta bred itself to be the perfect society. The perfect husband, the perfect wife the perfect child and the perfect soldier. Sparta was a nation of warriors, soldier’s breeding soldiers. It demanded that all its men eat live and breathe military prowess and yet for all that the women of Sparta had more freedoms then any other woman in the Greek world at the time. For only Spartan women gave birth to real men.” She quoted her grandmother. “But, for all their perfection in war and trying to create the perfect society, if a child was born with deformities, unable to see, hear, speak or mental incapacity then they were thrown off the top of Mount Taygetos, to prevent them from becoming a burden on the society. A society where everyone had their role to play.”

“Was Nikolaos’s son disabled?” Kristof asked.

“No, according to oral records it had been decreed by the Pythia that he would bring about the destruction of Sparta. To prevent that it was decreed he die at the mountain.”

“Oh my god.” Helena sat herself down “They were brutal!”

“Yes, as brutal as the Nazi’s were in their pursuit to create the purest German, or the Russians in their pursuit to have the perfect soldiers and athletes. Plato summed Spartan society up as the perfect society where everyone knew their place, knew their roles and did what they had to do. Everyone put into the state and no one was a burden on the society. A disabled child or one that could threaten the stability of the city state, were put to death.”

“God they really did listen to the Oracle of Delphi, didn’t they?” Helena shook her head.

“The Pythia was the most powerful woman in ancient Greece.” Kristof sighed heavily. “She spoke with the authority of the Gods, the authority of Apollo. Her word was law.”

“That’s some power for a woman who was probably high as a kite on some sort of ancient drug.” Helena stood up and went to the coffee machine. It took all Kassandra had to not snap at the American that she knew fuck all about how the Pythia worked. She had to remind herself that in today’s world they did not believe in what she believed in.

That anyone who expressed the ability to see the future was ridiculed as a loon or a fraud, sure there was some frauds out there, but not everyone was a fraud. She took the coffee given her and said she would clean the armour up, “Who donated this armour by the way?” Kassandra asked “Or was it anonymous?”

Anonymity prevented the Greek government from prosecuting anyone with armour from antiquity.

“Err.” Kristof picked up the clipboard “No it was a donation from Acropolis Industries.”

“Never heard of them.” Kassandra went back to cleaning the armour, a little more steadiness in her movements, and a gentleness that she had reserved when she had dressed Nikolaos for his funeral pyre.

“Never…they are only one of the foremost Companies that specialise in finding artefacts from Antiquity and the dark, middle ages.” Kassandra’s shoulder rose and fell in a I don’t care gesture. Helena picked her notepad up and pulled up the picture of the CEO of Acropolis Industries. “This is the owner and CEO Christina Argostoli.”

Kassandra gave the image a cursory look then stopped what she was doing as ice made its way up her spine. Goosebumps appeared on her arms and the hair stood up on the back of her neck. She took the notepad and swallowed hard. The hair was the same shade of black with not a hint of grey in it. She looked like she was in her early thirties, and her brown eyes played the camera more than the enigmatic smile on her face.

The face looking back at Kassandra was that of her former friend, and lover. Aspasia. The ghost of the Cult of Kosmos the leader and as she looked back at the armour, she knew that Aspasia knew where she lived and what she did for a living. This was no coincidence, this was a message, and meant only for her.


	5. The Wolf reaches out.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A delieverary of Armour has Kassandra in shock.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is where i diverge from game canon, I thought it might have been better if Kassandra and Nikolaos were reunited before the battle of Megaris.

_Megaris 431BC._

_It wasn’t how Kassandra had envisioned this contract. She had already completed a couple of tasks that the pompous oaf Stentor had set for her, the fact he told her he was the Wolfs son made her stomach knot. Add to that he really did not like her training with his men, wasn’t her fault they asked for her to train with them. _

_“You are a Spartan?” She looked up to see the Captain Demenaious approach her with two plates. He and his men had caught several boars and the smell of it made Kassandra’s mouth water in anticipation. He held the second plate out and sat down beside her. _

_“I was.” She admitted and picked a piece of meat up popping it into her mouth and savouring the taste. It might be a while before she had anything this good again. _

_“Sparta never leave the blood Eagle-Bearer.” He told her and smiled quickly. _

_“I guess,” She muttered looking up to where the Wolf was walking through his men nodding at them and talking to them, as ever Stentor was by his side, glued like the preverbial faithful hound “Your Polemarch does not like me sparring with you and your men, captain.”_

_“Take no notice of him. He is pissed because you put him on his arse.” Demenaious looked over his shoulder “Spartan military law dictates I follow his orders.”_

_“But?” She knew there was a but coming, it was his tone of voice _

_“but when I see a warrior who can teach my men something more, then I am going to use it.”_

_“Of course, you are.” She took another piece of meat and thanked him as he handed her some bread to go with it. _

_“Do you have a first name, Eagle Bearer?” _

_Kassandra mopped some of the meat juice off her plate and took a bite of her bread. She saw the Wolf make his way over. “My name is Kasandra.” She saw the wolf look over “Kassandra of Sparta.” _

_“Well met, Kassandra of Sparta.” Demenaious held his hand out and she shook it in the way of warriors. _

_“Captain, why are you entertaining the Misthios?” Stentor held his head up as his father regarded the young woman before him. _

_“I see no harm in make friendly conversastion Polemarch.” Demenaious told him “Besides I want to learn the move she put on you. I have not seen it before.”_

_Kassandra heard Stentor bristle and a look of annoyance crossed his handsome face before he held his head high “A lucky hit.” _

_“I don’t know” Kassandra set her plate down and picked her wine up “It was you who taught me it, wasn’t it, pater!” _

_The Captain scowled and looked at his General. Stentor went to have her thrown out for the second time she had said such a thing, when Nikolaos removed his wolf crested helm. “Kassandra?” he whispered and watched as she got to her feet and brushed herself down. “Impossible, I saw you fall, you do not survive a fall off Mount Taygetos.”_

_Time had not been kind to Nikolaos, too many battles and too many sleepless nights had taken their toll on him. His face was lined with age, eyes that seemed dead a few moments ago now lit up as he laid eyes on what was impossible. His daughter, here. A shaking hand reached out to take her shoulder, but she moved back from him, he did not blame her, not really. The man she had loved and trusted betrayed her. How like her mother she looked, and his heart ached to see it. _

_“Then I suppose the gods needed me alive for something.” She shot back. She walked up to him and stood before him. Anger flashing in her deep brown eyes. “You were my father and you were supposed to protect me and Alexios.” She snarled “but this is a conversation for later pater, I have a job that your new son cannot or will not do.” _

_“Kassandra, wait. Stentor, what job did you give her?” _

_“What any Misthios should be able to do. Weaken the Athenian forces pater.”_

_“Have our scouts do that.” Nikolaos set his helm down and asked the captain to get some men to make a circle. He picked up two staffs and threw one to her while keeping the other for himself. “I did my duty as a Spartan Kassandra. You forced my hand.”_

_“I forced your hand?” Kassandra twirled the staff in her hand “Well you seemed to have forgotten us pater, you adopted another into your house.” _

_Nikolaos grounded himself and watched as she readied herself. He nodded and then came at her, he took her off guard at first, and Stentor let the grin hit his face. Good, let his pater take down the discarded one for daring to show her face back here. His smug grin showed to all the other Spartans present. _

_“Up, up.” Nikolaos extended his hand “A Spartan may fall but they will always get back to their feet.” _

_Kasandra balled her fist and drove it into her father’s face, followed by a head butt. Nikolaos stepped back clutching his broken nose. “Hesitation only hastens the grave pater.” She snarled. _

_Nikolaos laughed, despite the blood dripping from his nose “You remember your mothers’ teachings, good.” _

_The two circled each other and the watching soldiers could only stare as when father and daughter came together, they gave no quarter, for none was asked. The clash lasted several long moments. Each blow blocked or parried and they banged their shields in appreciation of such a sparring match._

_The Wolf was deceptively agile for his age and despite the years of hatred within her, it was obvious that she still loved this man, because on occassions a wry grin would cross her face, and mirrored on her fathers face too The men were loving this, and even the in camp Hetaerae were watching. At somepoint the circle had grown bigger as their fight drew more and more attention. _

_Kassandra saw her opportunity and grabbed her father by his cloak collar and pushed him against the tree. “There is a large bounty for the mercenary who takes the head of the wolf of Sparta” She snarled. _

_“Is that why you are here Kassandra?” Nikolaos whispered in that gravelly voice of his. _

_Kassandra seemed to war with herself and with an angry snarl she threw him to one side. Stentor went to attack her but Nikolaos held his hand up forbidding anyone from interfering. _

_“No pater, death would be too good for you and there is no honour in vengeance!” She hissed “You have to live with the ghosts of your past pater, you let Alexios down and you let me down when I needed you most. I loved you!” She shouted at him, swallowing the tears that threatened to spill over and picked her helm up “You were my world, my hero. All my life Leonidas this, Leonidas that, but all I ever saw was you, you were my hero, you broke that dream when you threw me off a fucking mountain.” She wiped her hand across the back of her eyes. “I will help you win your battle here pater, then you decide where your honour lay, because the cold hard truth is, you lost it the day you threw me off Taygetos and the day you let them take Alexios.” _

_Nikolaos got to his feet. “Kassandra, do you remember what I told you that afternoon?”_

_Kassandra’s back stiffened a little “You said I was your pride and your joy and that I would bring our family to glory.” She muttered angrily._

_“That was not a lie Kassandra. It was never a lie.”_

_“Must have been Nikolaos, or you wouldn’t have let them destroy our family.” She cast a glance in Stentor’s direction “I told you I was his daughter.” _

_She picked her sword up and whistling mounted her horse and rode out the camp, to kill a mercenary. Nikolaos picked his helm up and put it over his head, and walked back towards his tent. His world in turmoil. Demenaious heard Stentor whisper to some of the guards, when he was gone, they came up to him. _

_“Sir, the Polemarch has ordered us to kill the Misthios.” _

_Kill the Generals daughter? Impossible, “I suspect as she survived being thrown from the mountain that always hungers, then she is not going to be cowed by an assassin.” He murmured “ready some horses, we go aid her. I will get to know my Generals blood.”_

Kassandra came out of her thoughts as she once again looked upon the armour that had been her fathers. She had indeed appreciated the aid that the captain and his men had given her, and the warning. When she had asked why the Primarch had ordered her dead, Demenaious had told her that it was because he did not like anyone else gaining the favour of the Wolf and the fact this was Kassandra Agiad made it even more annoying for him. As soon as Demenaious said her last name the other soldiers with him became like her own group. Of course, word soon got around the camp, that the Misthios was not only the Generals daughter, but the daughter of the great King Leonidas. Kassandra took many contracts over the course of what Herodotus called her odyssey Against the fake gods of the Cult. She even took some against Spartans, but she could never bring herself to take Contracts against the Spartans in Megaris and had made some friendships there. Some she had seen at Pylos and some she had seen in Macedonia.

Askelson one of the soldiers who followed her around, warned her that the Primarch’ s wrath was long. She had laughed and said he was nothing more than a shadow of her father’s glory and, she had said it to his face too. After the battle for Megaris Kassandra and her father spoke again and Nikolaos had dropped his helm and sword at her feet. When she asked where he was going, he had said to find his honour and left her with a stark warning of Snakes in the Grass. It was only when she found Elpinor and the events that led her to the discovery of not only the Cult, but her brother being alive, she had to wonder just how much the Wolf had known.

As for her adoptive brother, she supposed he had been promoted too quickly, he was younger than her so someone somewhere had decided to make him the wolfs shadow. It was only after she had kicked his ass out of the house after her mother’s death, that she discovered the paper he had been hiding all these years. That he had wanted to join the cult and bring Nikolaos to them, Stentor was also the reason Barnabas was dead. A poisoned blade in his back when he had stepped between the arguing warriors. Kassandra had put the mark of the coward on his face and thrown him onto the dock. Even sharks didn’t have to eat a coward.

He had tried to re-join the army but with that mark she had carved into his face, no soldier would ever let him in to their unit. So, what happened to him after that, Kassandra did not know, nor did she care. Setting her coffee down she picked up the tablet and looked at the information on Acropolis Industries. Head office was in Argos. She had been told that the Tainted Ones would always know one another, something about their blood but, Aspasia had never set off that little warning system in her head. Not even when Kassandra had become aware of what and who she was. Then again it hadn’t with Alexios either so maybe she just wasn’t listening to it anymore.

It couldn’t be Aspasia, she was not immortal, it had to be a descendant of her but even so, the likeness was incredible. Kassandra got up and went to get a refill for her mug and looked at the phone that Alexios had given her. She never really liked using the things, but he had said that she would find it useful, that currently, it was a handy thing to have, and it meant those friends she might make could keep in touch with her, including long lost brothers. He would want to know about this. The immortal looked over at the armour once more, he had the right to know about this. She picked the Samsung up and scrolled to where he had inputted his number. Rang it and sipped some coffee while she waited.

“Alexios…” Oh his voice mail, ok, she waited then said “Alexios, can you come to the museum of Sparta in Sparta, there is something you need to see.” She looked at the armour once more “Paters armour.” He would also want to know about this Acropolis Industries.


	6. The Ghost Returns

Acropolis Industries was a government sanctioned company, its job was to recover lost artefacts from Greek Antiquity, be they in another country or in private collections. The Greek government had been growing increasingly adamant that anything stolen from their country in their long history of occupation by differing countries be returned to them. It was a long and arduous task, not all the countries wanted to return what was not theirs to keep.

It was an ongoing process, especially with the British government who had what the British call the Elgin Marbles. It had incensed the owner of the company that they had offered to “Loan” the Greeks what was essentially their property to begin with. The negotiations were coming to a head and, If the British did not give back what was rightfully the property of the Greek people, then she suspected a long and lengthy court case would ensue, especially as the British could not produce the paperwork that they claimed to have in regards to the permissions for the Elgin man to procure the marble when the Greeks came under the control of the Ottoman Empire. 

The CEO turned in her highbacked leather chair and looked out over the view from her window. Argos, the birthplace of Perseus himself, as well as other noted figures in what modern historians all called the myths of ancient Greece. Just because they claimed there was no proof that men like Perseus, Theseus, Jason and others existed, did not mean they did not exist, she knew better, after all she was descended from Theseus himself. Her coffee sat cradled between her long slender fingers. The World knew her as Christina Argostoli, a wealthy…what was it called these days? Tomb Raider? A new word for an Archaeologist who would go to any lengths to get what was needed to protect the world from the ancient artefacts that could destroy it.

She had started her company twenty years ago, a small company then, hired by governments the world over to find artefacts of their own country’s cultures. Now she was the go-to woman and her company were worth millions of Euros. She snorted at the word, Euro, what a presumptuous pompous word for something she did not believe in. The Greeks had been using Drachmae for centuries, then they become part of the “European family” of states and the Drachmae was consigned to history, or Drachma as it had been called then. She looked out over the skyline and set her cup down. Christina had been in Megaris a few months ago, helping the archaeologists there, they had uncovered a large battlefield and it was bringing up a bounty of materials. Spears, helmets, all Spartan or Athenian. She had discovered the suit of armour that had her people talking. No self-respecting Spartan warrior had one suit of armour, and if what she had suspected was true, then this was his battle armour.

It hadn’t taken her long to work out that Kassandra was still alive, she had worked it out when they had met under the temple of Apollo in Delphi, in the sacred cave of Gaia. Almost four years after Kassandra started her journey to discover her family, she had barely aged. Some would say good Mediterranean genes, and that might have been the case, had she not seen the Spartan in passing in the middle east some fifty years ago. Then again, she had room to talk. History said that Aspasia had simply died. Truth was she had seen her only son Pericles the younger, executed for something that was not his fault, and she had called out to the gods for vengeance. Her plea had been answered but not by Kosmos, but Hera. Hera, angered that such a prominent and influential woman should dare try and usurp the gods of Olympus for a deity that did not exist, cursed Aspasia.

“You call for vengeance, you call to us, the gods of Greece for vengeance, when you had all but abandoned us to put your false god higher than us. You shall have your,_ vengeance_ but not in the way you think.” The queen of the Olympus gods had told her in a vision at the Temple of Hera in Argos. “You will find those who took your son, but after that and when your vengeance has been sated, you shall pay for the crimes against the gods. Whenever death comes to claim you, you shall get up and walk again, you shall watch all you love wither and die while you remain immortal. You will not be able to take your own life and I shall only allow you peace, once all you put in motion, has been destroyed.”

At first Aspasia did not believe the Queen of the gods, she thought it was a trick, nothing more, until that is, she was thrown from the slopes of Mount Parnitha, by the cultists she had helped to mould. Her body had been broken, torn by the fall, blood everywhere. After several pain filled hours of her body knitting back together, she had got up and limped away.

It had taken months for her to accept that everything she had believed in was a lie. Kosmos had not saved her from the cultists. Kosmos had abandoned her, after all she had done to bring the ideal of a unified world to fruition. He had abandoned her to the changing ways of his followers. Everything she had told Kassandra had in some parts come true, and in others never came to pass, because where there was order, there would always be chaos. The world would never be a place of order and it had taken Aspasia many, many centuries to realise that.

And a few ugly deaths too.

So, when she had come across the battered battle armour of Nikolaos of Sparta, she had sent it to the Museum of Sparta, knowing that they would call upon their antiquities military expert to authenticate it. She was amused that her people believed they had found a battle armour of Leonidas I, yes, he was a great king and an even greater warrior, but he was not the only Greek war hero to have lived. Her Pericles had been a great general before he had become a great leader. Too bad Kleon had the vision of a tyrant.

She finished her coffee and rose from her seat. Christian Argostoli might well be a well-known figure amongst the Greek business world, but Aspasia of Ionia was something far more, and perhaps it was time she re-acquainted herself with her former lover. They had a job to do after all. Wether Kassandra wanted to or not, they would have to work together again. Especially if the information she had on the Cults new leadership was anything to go by.

Aspasia left her office and left the building, getting smoothly into the Limo that awaited her, she told her driver to take her home in Navplion, overlooking the picturesque Argolikos Gulf. She rested her chin on the palm of her hand as she watched the world go by and her memory moved back.

_426BC, Sacred Cave of Gaia, Delphi, Phokis. _

_“You, you are part of the Cult!” _

_It was not an accusation, more like a statement of disbelief. Kassandra stood staring between Aspasia and the artefact, not sure what she wanted to smash first. _

_“I am its leader, or I was.” _

_“You ordered my brother taken, my mother and father hounded, me hounded because of what we are!” _

_“No!” Aspasia fended off the Irate Spartans temper. _

_Kassandra was a formidable woman, more so then she had been when Aspasia had first met her five years previous. She was also like her famous Grandfather, in that her temper was volatile in more ways then one, it was why many warriors in Sparta had started to follow her into the battles that would forever plague the Greek world. They had become closer in the last year, spending what time they could together. The cult had killed Kyra, Kassandra’s first real adult true love, an act of retaliation for killing their sages, their leaders and taking Deimos away from them. It had been petty vengeance and one she had not sanctioned, but the new sages, now starting to align themselves with the goals of the Order of Ancients, wanted blood, and if they couldn’t take Kassandra’s head, they would take the heads of those she had ever loved. _

_“Why should I believe you now!” Kassandra threw her hands in the air and walked across to the other side of the room. “You lied to me! For what? Was it fun to lead me around in circles?” _

_“NO!” Aspasia’s voice echoed as it rose in pitch across the empty cave. She took a deep breath, now she had caught Kassandra’s attention “I did not want this Kassandra, I formed the Cult of Kosmos to bring order to a world of Chaos, at first we were doing what those before us had done, changing things for the better, but the cult changed, the more we changed the more they changed. They wanted power for themselves, they wanted control and riches for themselves, and they wanted to rule the Greek World for their own ends. Even working with the fucking Persians!” _

_“The same Persians who were hunting me for being a Tainted one!” Kassandra narrowed her eyes “Do not tell me you knew nothing about that as well!” _

_Aspasia shook her head “I did not.” She went to reach out to the Spartan, to try and calm her so they could talk, rationally, but Kassandra was having none of it. In her eyes the worst thing anyone she loved could do to her was betray her, and this…this was the ultimate betrayal. _

_For five years she had travelled the length and breadth of the Greek world, several times over, hunting the cultists, hunting the order and bringing her family back together, and frankly it had exhausted her, then there was discovering her real father, fighting the Minotaur, Sphinx, Cyclops and Medusa, or a reincarnation of medusa, and if that was not enough, descending into the underworld and to Atlantis to satisfy the judgement of the gods. All in all, she was exhausted, she was tired and she was angry. _

_Aspasia could understand that anger, but Kassandra needed to focus, she needed to see the bigger picture, there was no room for sentiment in the life they lead. They were not mere mortals; they were something bigger and they had a destiny to fulfil. What that destiny was she had no idea, but she wanted them to do it, together. _

_“Your fucking cult, your fucking god had Phidias murdered, Pericles murdered and Phoibe too, not to mention countless innocent men and women who did not agree with them, or who were against them and knew their true agenda.” Kassandra still felt the murder of Phoibe keenly. “or because it suited them to kill a child! After all that’s what they have been doing since they were kidnapping children and young men from the Olympic training grounds, filling the men with drugs to make them stronger and women, also taking women for the same thing.” _

_“It was how it became; I had no control...”_

_“BULLSHIT” Kassandra raged, her voice shutting Aspasia up for a moment “I read the letters, I saw the letters, you encouraged them! You told them they would rule the world! YOU STIRRED IT UP AND WHEN IT ALL WENT WRONG, YOU TRIED TO BACKPEDDLE OUT OF IT!” Kassandra jabbed a finger at the ghost. _

_The young Spartan breathed in and out to calm herself down. She looked at the glowing artefact and gripped her spear “As much as I want to fucking kill you for what you have done, I know one thing I can do.” She took her spear and drove it into the artefact. She heard Aspasia yell no but Kassandra did not hear her, nor did she want to hear her, all she wanted to do, was to destroy this, thing, this eyes into a future she had no comprehension off. _

_As she did images flashed through her head, through Aspasia’s head. Egypt the middle east, America the Caribbean, France and England. Places that both had no inkling off, except Egypt. Technology that they did not even begin to understand morphing with the time streams to give both a view of what was to come. All Kassandra knew was by destroying this, then the Pythia could not receive anymore false visions and orders from the cult and the balance would be addressed. The cult, or the remnants of it, was going to be blind. _

_Aspasia stared as her lover stepped back breathing hard and then went flying as the warrior’s fist connected with her jaw. Without another word Kassandra stormed out of the cave leaving Aspasia alone, alone with the shattered source of the Cult of Kosmos’s power._

Her memory returned to her as the car pulled into her home. She thanked her driver and told him to go home but to be ready to collect her at 8am, for a long drive to Sparta. It was time that she and Kassandra were reunited. Wether she wanted to be or not.


	7. Warning from the Dead.

Alexios walked through the halls of the Sparta Museum, tourists still came here in droves, no matter what time of year it was, he supposed the interest in Sparta had to do with that film that came out a few years ago, 300, he had gone to see it and found it a fair representation of what had happened. Even if the Ephors had been depicted as dirty old men and Epilates had been depicted as a hunchback, which would never have happened, he would have been thrown of Taygetos as soon as it became apparent. But all in all, he had liked he film. It seemed that people far and wide still loved the story of the 300 and in coming here, they got to know what being a real Spartan was about, not just a soldier but as a person from Sparta.

He paused by a case that held the armour and helm of his grandfather, proudly displayed. It was his ceremonial armour, Alexios knew that, his grandfather would have been interned with his battle armour. He took his time having a look at the artefacts from the Greek/Persian wars and the Peloponnesian Wars too. Arching an eyebrow when he saw an artist’s rendition of the giant warrior who cut through the Spartan ranks in Macedonia. Pausing he saw the reason for the image was a faded parchment sealed in a air tight container, describing how the warrior Deimos fought the Eagle Bearing Misthios on the field of battle in Macedonia.

“Not a bad picture for one that was said to have been the son of Ares,”

He turned as he heard the chuckle in the voice beside him and rolled his eyes at his sister. “Where was this found?” He asked, impressed at the artists skill if not their poetic licence. He most certainly had not been wreathed in a blood fire, more like the power of the sword of Damocles, which had been his to hold and his to bear, much like Kassandra was to bear the spear of Leonidas.

“In the tomb of Brasidas.” Kassandra quietly said.

“Ah.” Alexios muttered.

Alexios had made no apologies for killing Brasidas, he had nothing against the man, but it had been a battle and he had, in a way, made the General a hero to his men. Kassandra had never insisted he apologise for that either. After all Spartan duty began and ended on the field of battle, and if he had not killed Brasidas, someone else might have. At least he came home on his shield and not under it.

“He was given a heroes burial then?” Alexios walked with his sister to her rooms.

“Oh yes. A pyre fit for a king some said.” Kassandra pointed to the Brasidas section “Truth was he had a Pyre fit for a hero, and was attended by his surviving men, Mater and myself.”

“He did?”

“Yeah, I took him home to Sparta, we transported the bodies of the dead back to Sparta so they could be lain to rest in their home.” Kassandra looked at the ground “and we took the Athenian dead back to Athens. The Andrastias hold smelt for weeks after.”

“I bet What of Kleon?”

“I left him there.” She snarled a little “He put an arrow in your back Alexios, I didn’t know if you were alive or dead, when I was done with him, I came back for you, but you were gone.”

Alexios smiled a little “I know.” He looked around him and changed the subject “So Paters armour?” He kept his voice low, so no one else could hear their conversastion. “What made them think it was the Great Leonidas’s armour?”

“You’d be surprised how many times our people here think we have Leonidas’s second armour.” She pointed back towards the display cabinet “That’s the only one that was ever found by our archaeological teams. I have the second one at home. Mater gave me it before she died.”

“So, it can be worshipped?”

“What? No, why would you say that?”

“Because Mater, as well as every other Spartan, worshipped him as a god, he wasn’t even you said he would not have wanted to have been seen that way. He was a Warrior King who did what he had to do.”

Kassandra could not deny that Alexios was probably right. She led him down to the private area and introduced him to her colleagues, Kristof and Helena, both of whom gave Alexios very admiring glances. They were cataloguing the other finds that had come in that day, and Alexios nodded once or twice at their enthusiastic exclamations at some piece of battle armour or cloak clasp they had cleaned up.

Pride of place however was the battle armour of the Wolf of Sparta, starting to look shiny where Kassandra had spent hours cleaning it. He walked over to where it lay out and when no one was looking he ran his fingertips over the clasp before moving his hand back and putting it in his pocket. He had no real memory of Nikolaos as a child. His first memory had been being punished by Chrysis for crying when he had fallen. His brow furrowed a little and he had to admit, he did, in times past, wonder what his life might have been like, had the Cult never been formed and he had never been thrown off the Mountain because he had been falsely labelled with being the reason for Sparta’s downfall.

A couple of years after he had been reunited with his family, he and Nikolaos had taken a journey to Delphi and he had shown his father the cave where the cult had given the Pythia her orders for the day. The Pythia had been in the temple and when she had seen him walk into the temple with his father she had almost shrieked in horror. It was bad enough that when Kassandra arrived the priests at the door wet themselves, it had taken his sister a few moments to calm the terrified woman down. Then she had looked at both siblings and said they would be cursed by the gods for their actions. To walk but never die. To see the world but never find peace.

Well she was right about that if nothing else. The Pythia was a tool, Alexios had told his father outside, the office of the Oracle might once have received visions from Apollo and she might again, but the Pythia that sealed Leonidas’s fate, and the one that had sealed his and Kassandra’s fate had been in the hands of the Cult and both women were now dead. Wether or not Apollo deigned to give this Pythia anymore visions then that was up to him. As far as Alexios was aware it took years for the Pythia to ever be able to give reliable prophecies again. It had also taken him a long time to forgive Nikolaos for allowing him to be thrown from the mountain. Something he had done in the final years of his paters’ life. Alexios had gone to Thera with Kassandra and seen the grave of their father Pythagoras, but like his sister he had no real connection to the man, apart from his blood so, like his sister, he did not see him as anything other than a man who was famed for being a mathematician of great skill.

Strange thing was though. When they left the hidden gateway to Atlantis, a lion cub had come and sat at Alexios’s feet. It followed him around and eventually he took it home with him. He called it Leo, and whereas Kassandra had Ikarus, he had a lion that was his constant companion. Leo had loved him, and was fond of his sister too. He did not like Stentor one little bit, and on the odd occasion that Alexios and Stentor worked together in the armies of the two kings, Leo would make his dislike of the man known. For years after, when he wandered the earth, he would attract a lion cub to call his own, be it male or female, he had even called one lioness cub Myrinne. It had been a long time since he last had one. 

Kassandra waited for Kristof and Helena to leave and poured two coffees from the machine. She handed one to her brother and stood beside him. “It was apparently found in Megaris.” She murmured and picked up the Galaxy Note and handed it to him.

“I have heard of them; they try and recover stolen artefacts belonging to the Greek world.” Alexios read the article.

“Flick to the next page.” Kassandra told him.

Looking at her a little quizzically, Alexios did as she asked and his eyebrows climbed to the top of his head as he saw the smiling image of the Ghost. “Can’t be.” He murmured “She is not Isu human hybrid”

“You think it’s her too?”

“Well if it’s not then it’s a damn good likeness.” Alexios handed the note back. He rubbed his brow a little “I had heard a legend that after her son died, she went to the temple of Hera in Argolis. Someone there told me the Goddess appeared to her but I don’t know what was said.”

“If Hera appeared to her then it wasn’t to congratulate her.” Kassandra sighed “Aspasia wanted to end the reign of the gods; I doubt Hera would have been comforting.”

“As much as it pains me to say it sister. If it were not for us, or places like this, then the gods would be dead. In that she was right.”

Kassandra grunted an acknowledgement, places like this kept the gods alive, even if their temples had long since crumbled into dust, or were skeletons of what they once were. Their once beautiful roofs long gone and open to the elements, the giant stone statues of Zeus at Olympia and Athena in Athens long gone to the elements and the ravages of war and invaders.

“So, if that is her, and she knows what she had, why send it here?”

“Best place to get my attention I suppose.” Kassandra shrugged.

“You think she knows you are still alive?”

“Yeah, she knows.” Kassandra walked over to a table and chucked him a copy of Time Magazine with a special on Spartan history, and a picture of her with her team in the centre page.

“It’s a good picture sister.” Alexios glanced up at his sister who pulled a face and waved him off. “I never knew you were so photogenic.”

“Enough, I didn’t want my picture taken, I had no choice in that.”

“You found the site of the …. “Alexios read the rest of the article and put the magazine down. He didn’t want to read how the mass grave at the bottom of the mountain that hungered was found. “Did those poor souls get some sort of recognition?”

“They are building a memorial and have made the site a no-go area, they are going to build a chapel nearby and the Prime Minister and President have both ordered that the entire site be named one of great importance and respected as a resting place. The army are there now making sure there are no ghouls going in to get the bones of the dead.”

Alexios looked back at the armour and sat himself down. “He was a good man, if not a stubborn Spartan.” He sighed “I am glad we got to talk before he died.”

“He loved you Alexios, in his way.”

“He loved you too, and Stentor, even if the guy was a prick. I know he despaired at you and Stentor never seeing eye to eye.”

“I know.” Kassandra nodded a little “but he would never give an inch and neither would I, you got on with him though.”

“Not as much as he would like, but I didn’t rise to his baiting like you did. I didn’t have to play nice with the new brother, you did.” Kassandra snorted and turned as her name was called. Heaving a sigh, she asked her brother if he wouldn’t mind hanging on until she got back. Alexios waved her off.

He knew that despite her own ennui at this life, she loved what she did, he could see it in the way she had started restoring their Paters armour. Picking up a brush he started to brush gently at the chest plate, as he had seen other archaeologists over the years do. At one point he had run the security teams for their digs. Making sure no, ghouls or treasure hunters got through. His company at the time had been moderately successful but he had sold it to another company who did the same thing and added the coins to his already impressive fortune. He had been a lot of things in his life. Soldier, mercenary, explorer, he had even been a pirate once, that was fun. Now he was an assassin, although he was not a member of the Brotherhood, like his sister, he proffered to stay out of that shit storm.

“You were right pater.” He muttered “Kassandra does need watching over now.”

“Your sister needs your guidance Alexios.” He turned at the voice, not sure if it was in his head or…but no, standing behind him, shimmering a little was Nikolaos, although he was not the grey haired war weary general that Alexios remembered, more like the strong as an ox, dark haired man he had been in his youth. The man that had stolen Myrinne’s heart.

“She does not enjoy this long life I think.” He set the brush down and sat back in the seat, cradling his coffee but being careful not to spill it near the armour. “I think being given that has reminded her of all Alethia told her about never growing old and watching those she loves age and wither.”

“Hmm” Nikolaos nodded in that way of his “You have been watching her all these years?”

“When I could yes. She believed in me when I was at my darkest, she brought me home.”

“My armour. It doesn’t seem so long since I last wore it.”

“It was found in Megaris I believe; did you lose your armour pater?”

“Better my armour then my shield.” Alexios smirked and nodded a little in agreement,

A Spartan could lose his armour, even loose his spear or sword but never his shield. That was a shame worse then fleeing from the field of battle.

“An Athenian got lucky and cut deep into it.” Nikolaos pointed at the indentation and Alexios could see clear through it “His axe was sharper than I thought, but his neck didn’t last long with my shield.”

That was war and at that time it was far more brutal than anything today. There was no bullet proof vests, no weapons that fired bullets to give quick death. Thiers was a time where blood and guts were everywhere you trod on the battle field, where you had to rely on the brother next to you and where spears and swords did far more damage. All a warrior had was his weapon, his armour and his shield. Brutal as it was, it was far more simpler it seemed.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and Alexios turned a little “Beware the coward behind the veneer of civility Alexios.” Nikolaos warned “Shame in the form of a man with too much power. Look after your sister and know you are both my pride even from Elysium, I watch over you both. Grandson of the Lion.”

“Who…” he went to ask, but his pater was gone. Alexios rubbed his eyes a little and almost jumped out of his seat as his sister returned.

“Look like you have seen a ghost little brother why so jumpy?”

Alexios looked back at the armour and then at Kassandra “Pater was here.” He got up “Can we go from here. The dead are not resting it seems.”

“I was on my way home, what do you mean Pater was here?”

“I will tell you once we get to your home, I will follow in my car.”

Kassandra knew she was not going to get anymore out of him here, so grabbing her jacket and backpack she waited for him and walked out with him.


	8. Stentor and Hekate

The security teams of Abstergo had been shaken to the core. Gone were the names Sigma team, Otto Berg to name a few. Either dead or, assigned elsewhere. Which usually meant contract terminated permanently. Stentor had seen the Templars in action himself, and before he took over as the CEO, he had studied everything, from Desmond Miles, to Layla Hussain. The latter dead protecting the world from Juno, the former in a mentle asylum after being found by the body of her friend muttering about how she was the heir of memories and her words needed to be heeded.

Stentor had snorted when he was told that she had been the key to the Staff of Hermes Trismegistus, the most powerful Isu artefact to date, and it was now missing. The staff could grant immortality, heal and had a corrupting influence on the wielder. He sat back in his chair, Kassandra had a staff very much like that, he remembered her using it once or twice. The staff had been missing when they found the so-called Heir of Memories. He did not have any need of immortality, he was immortal, but its power, well it needed to be in the orders hands.

So, he had taken the security teams and re-trained them himself, in the way he had been trained as a younger man. The result had been spectacular. The Abstergo security teams were modern day Spartan soldiers. Trained to be the best and whilst they wielded automatic weapons and not swords or shields, where they had body armour instead of shields, the premise was the same. No team acted alone, they acted together as one. One mind one body, and they adored their commander.

Each team had a different role. One was research, their job was to locate the Isu Artefacts and bring them in, that was Laconia Team led by Dr Evelyn Shaw. She had found the Blade of the Lionheart in France, ensured the Assassins didn’t get to it first and returned it to his vault. Now she was on the trail not only of the Staff of Hermes, but the spear of Leonidas. Now that he wanted, more than anyone would ever know, not to mention the sword of Damocles.

The second of his five teams were Taygetos, the hunters. Their job was to hunt known assassins and end them. Led by Commander Adam Gray. He had already killed Shaun Hastings, and was currently hunting for Bishop and Rebecca Crane. Stentor had overseen that one, he had tortured Hastings to the point that the man was weeping blood then watched as Gray dropped him from the top of the London Eye. Priority target was the Assassins Grand master himself, William Miles.

The third team was known as Megaris, named for his victory against the Athenians, not the Wolf, not that fucking Misthios, but his. He had planned the demise of Athenian fortunes, he had planned the death of their leader, not some fucking adopted sister. These were the archaeologists, led by Professor Gaynor Ford. Already they had discovered the lost gardens of Babylon and were currently following the clues there that might lead them to the ancient lost tomb of Gilgamesh, said to contain a powerful Isu Artefact, said to have brought about the great flood.

The fourth team were his spies, the Krypteia, his own secret police, led by Anthony Ormandis. Not only did they spy on most of the politicians and people of import, but they also kept an eye on things in house too. Stentor was not about to have the Assassins infiltrate his company again. Even the mention of the name of Abstergos’ internal security was enough to make sure everyone fell in line. If anyone even thought of stealing technology or defecting to the assassins then examples were made of them, very public examples. It was also the Krypteia who had helped him clean house of the old guard, ensuring that everything now was his and his alone.

The last team was called Sparta, led by Martha Cordite, they were the undercover unit, the unit that would infiltrate and discover then return and set the rest on their journeys. Martha was also his adopted daughter, and she was a damn good undercover agent. She chose only the best for her team, who had been to be able to utilise everything to their control and not balk at the harder missions. She had no room in her life for weaklings and she did not suffer fools easily.

In the years he had taken control of Abstergo, Stentor had not only brought the Templars to heel, but he had made sure that the Assassins were not as big a threat as they had appeared to be. Now though, now someone or a group were culling the lesser members of his order. Hunting them, cornering them, sometimes torturing them, other times just killing them. He didn’t know who but he would find out and when he did, he would make an example of them. A very public, painful example.

Stentor Lyconia was indeed more than he had ever been as a Polemarch in the Spartan army. He was rich, powerful, feared and he had embraced the last gift of the gods whole heartedly. The broad-shouldered man sat behind his desk and turning looked out over Paris. City of romance, pfft what a load of horseshit, if he was a romantic, which he was not, then he would have said the view from the Boeotia mountains was more breath-taking then this pile of crap. Romance in a place of stone and light was hardly what the great bards of the day would have written about.

He closed his eyes; he had no meetings for the next hour and he wanted to recall the point that his life would forever change….

_396 BC. Samos, Greece. The Temple of Hekate._

_He was an old man, his once black hair was now grey, his skin a testament to the battles he had fought and those he had lost. The scar over his eye was the only thing that remained stark on a skin that was dying. _

_Stentor was a broken man, a warrior with no home, a warrior who wanted to die in glorious battle but who would be accepted by no army. His “sister” had seen to that. No longer known as Stentor the Polemarch of the Kings armies, he was just Stentor the forgotten, the man with no country to call his home, no state and no name. _

_He had stumbled in this old almost dilapidated wooden temple to get out of the rain. The deer he had caught was cooking and while he was waiting, the wine he had taken from a merchant he had killed on the way here, soothed his thirst. Anyone else in his shoes should have died years ago, but he was a stubbourn man. His heart screamed vengeance at the Agiad siblings. He had hoped that Alexios would have seen things his way, Barnabas had interfered in a matter between him and the Eagle Bearer, but even the lost son had stood by his sisters side, obviously the new son had forgotten the bonds that made Barnabas family to the Eagle Bearer and perhaps he should not have struck the old man in such a way, but he had interfered where he was not needed, and Stentor had been fed up with people interfering where they were not needed. _

_His body was breaking down now, and once he had eaten, he could feel the cold hand of Hades on his shoulder, that was fine, he would enter the underworld, pay the ferryman and go to find eternal peace. He closed his eyes, only to open them a moment later when his name was called by the most harmonic melodic voice he had ever heard. _

_At first, he thought he was dreaming, before him stood the tall powerful figure of the goddess of witchcraft, light, crossroads and necromancy. Her long white hair seemed to shimmer in the moons light and she bade him to sit up. Not sure if he was dreaming or if he was in the land of the dead. Stentor did as she asked. If nothing else such a dream was one to warm an old man’s heart. _

_“Tell me, Stentor of no home, what would be the one thing you desire above all others?” The goddess asked. _

_That was an easy question to answer, “Vengeance” he snarled as best he could through a mouth that had very few teeth, “I want vengeance on the Misthios Bitch and her brother.” _

_Hekate sat herself down across from him, her black gown hiding nothing of the voluptuous figure that lay beneath it. It stirred things in him that had long since cooled with the twilight of age. The goddess allowed a wry smile to cross her otherwise stern face. _

_“It is in my power to grant such a boon,” She cooed, “For I too have a debt to settle with the Eagle Bearer, but if I should grant such a wish, would you give me your soul Spartan? Would you love only me and follow only me through times innumerable?” _

_Stentor sat straighter and then cocked his head a little, Hekate was not an evil god, more neutral, she was the daughter of a Titan and even Zeus himself paid her homage. However, when the Eagle Bearer descended unwanted and unwelcome into Elysium, and turned the world upside down, eventually causing Persephone to exile her oldest friend, then Kassandra’s card was marked. Hekate wanted someone to haunt the Misthios through the years, only to reveal themselves when the time was right, and in this old shamed warrior she had found what she wanted. _

_“Why do you want her head?”_

_“Your question is not to be answered, I asked if you would honour me and only me.” Hekate reminded him “Of course if you wish to ask me inane questions, then I can leave you here to your fate which will not be Elysium, it will be the eternal battlefields, where you will die only to rise again, or Tartarus, where your mark has placed you to endure the eternal pits of fire and pain.” _

_Stentor didn’t much like that idea and he certainly would relish the battlefield, but to do it all day every day, even war had its limits. “You have my word.” He brought his arm across his chest. _

_Hekate produced an apple. Plucked from the orchards of Elysium, imbued with the power to grant eternal life. She held it out but closed her hand around it before he could take it. “You are mine now, remember that Stentor, go back on your word and any suffering you endure in the underworld will be nothing, compared to what I will do to you.” _

_He nodded and taking the apple took a bite. Hekate nodded and got up. When he was ready then she would impart the knowledge to him. Until then she was going to watch him from afar and see if he was indeed a worthy choice. _

_Stentor woke in the old temple, adamant that he had merely had a dream, but as he picked his shield up, he saw his face reflected in the sheen on the reverse side. Young once more, grey hair now black, teeth now white. He stared a himself then looked down at himself and laughed a long and maybe slighting maddening laugh. He immediately set about making a sacrifice to Hekate and swearing his eternal loyalty and love. _

Stentor opened his eyes. Of course he had learnt that the Eagle Bearer and her brother were something special, that they too could not die and Hekate had been his patron, his guiding light and his lover, he had initiated his teams into her following and any loyalty they had to their parents gods were gone, for now there was only him and above him was Hekate. Rising from his seat he crossed to a set of doors, opening them he lit some candles and moved down to one knee before the small statue of Hekate.

As he had done for the last three thousand years, he renewed his pledge and his love for her and as she had done, she sent a vision into his mind of an old tomb, one that would give him what he needed to bring the head of the Eagle Bearer to the Queen of Witches. The land of the Myrmidons, Locris, the tomb of Achilles…. he wasn’t sure what was in there, but he would send his archaeologists there, once he had the paperwork, a few thousand euros should secure the permissions needed. No need to send a red flag to those he didn’t want to know about it, until he was ready. Getting to his feet he made the calls and the arrangements, then picked up an old copy of Times magazine and looked at the inside, straight to a well-thumbed page.

“Soon sister dear.” He whispered “when I have taken everything from you, everything you took from me, then you will beg me for death.” He tossed the magazine down and prepared himself for the day ahead.


	9. Daphne

Olympus National Park, Litochoro, Greece.

The Olympus National Park, sat nestled in the shadow of the great Mount Olympus itself. The eyes of the gods on the leaps and bounds that humanity had made in the last few years, where the conservation of animals was concerned. Where once they were nearly hunted to extinction, now they were protected. If one closed their eyes, they could hear the Wolves at night, howling to Hekate, or the deer dancing and prancing to the dance of Artemis herself. The Eagles souring above the clouds, the eyes of Zeus, Owls nestled in trees waiting to catch their prey Athena’s guiding hand along side them.

To all the humans in the world today the old gods were myths and legends, but to some, a small few, they were more than dead gods. One just had to look at the world around them to see that the Gods still worked their miracles and as Winter took hold, Gaia spread her arms to bring in the snow, Demeter mourned her daughter as the snow began to fall. For another six months the sorrow of Demeter would be felt the world over, the land barren until she was reunited with her daughter Persephone once more.

The Ranger breathed in the cold air and lent on her land rover bonnet as she took in the sights around her. She loved working here, as much as when she started here what ten years? Twenty? It didn’t matter. Time flew when you enjoyed your work. In summer she was making sure the tourists who hiked the path to the home of the gods returned safely, in winter she checked on the animals who had taken to their dens for the cold months to sleep, and rescue the odd mountaineer from the snow covered peak.

She poured some coffee from a thermos and sipped it. Winters were usually mild but the last couple had been severe. Especially here at the foot of the ancient mountain. If she listened, she thought she could hear Artemis’s call to the wild. Maybe she did, but the goddess had not ridden these lands for many a season, many the turn of the sun. Her people, her sisters had been called the Daughters of Artemis, to others they were the Amazons. Fierce warrior women who protected all the goddess of the hunt called her domain. Periodically her sisters would go find a man so that they could bear a child. If male the child was left with their father, if female they would be raised within the daughters large camps or villages, away from the cities, but, as with all things, time marched on and more and more of their once pristine woods and forests were cut down to make way for more homes, and eventually, over time man dominated where animals once had. Their wars were more explosive, and violent and much of her world had fallen to the wars of modern man. Temples already crumbling with age, were now blasted into oblivion or nothing more than some pillars or shells of what they had once been.

The Ranger sipped some more coffee and climbed into her car, sat behind the wheel and just watched the sun begin its slow steady decline. Twilight in Olympus was always a sight to behold, as was dawn. The start and end of the day always held a fascination for her. She tapped the wheel as the radio played some tune from the current music fad. She glanced at her reflection in the side mirror, short brown hair styled into an almost punkish cut. Both sides of her head shorn to the sides and the top of her hair a modern Mohican strip, just not so large. Amber eyes looked back at her. Her colleagues had said that her eyes were the most beautiful part about her, not that she wasn’t stunning, but her eyes enhanced it.

She started the engine, finished her coffee and picking up her radio looked at it for a moment then said “Ok I am off on holiday, see you in a couple of weeks, try not to let the winter tourists stray into bear territory, don’t want to be rescuing stupid tourists from angry woken bear again.”

The voice on the other end chuckled at the Rangers humour, last month some college students strayed off the path into hibernating bear territory and woke the mama bear. It had taken a tranq dart to calm the bear and a very quick extraction with one of the students in hospital for a few days after he had been swiped by the bear. Good job they had got to him, or the bear might be having a meal of stupid human 101.

“See yer in a couple of weeks, boss.”

Putting the handset down she drove off towards Phokis, leaving the park behind her.

The temple was hidden, over the centuries the trees had grown around it and hid it from the world, almost like a protective barrier. Most of this area had remained unchanged since the days of antiquity. Not many people lived in this area, and in the summer the tourists came that would help sustain the small towns and villages that dotted the landscape through the lean winter months. The Ranger parked up and stood looking at the wooden building. It was surprising how well it had remained intact, but then there was a reason. The hand of Artemis had saved her last remaining temple in a sort of freeze. No decay and no passage of time had affected this holy place as it had other places over Greece, it had not befallen foul of wind, rain, erosion or history hunters. Shielded by the trees that had grown around it.

She walked inside and stopped as she heard the low growl. The sunlight streamed through one window and in the shadows sat a wolf bitch with her cubs. The ranger moved to one knee and bowed her head. “Easy mother wolf, I am not here to harm you, I am here to pay my respects to our mistress.” The she-wolf stopped growling and hunkered down letting her cubs nestle against her. “Your pack will return soon, I will not intrude for long, I promise.” 

She turned to the statue that sat unchanged in the alcove. A marble depiction of the great goddess of the wild and the hunt. She knew why she was still alive when all she had known was gone. When the Eagle Bearer, the Beast Slayer had not killed her, her oath to Artemis had been tarnished. She should have fought the beautiful Misthios there and then, but she could not, that last kiss had sealed her fate as much as the Eagle Bearer. She had said if they ever crossed paths again then she would kill her, but they never did. She had gone into the temple and fallen into long sleep. Her sisters thought she was dead, of a broken heart but a priestess of the goddess had told them to let her sleep, to leave her body intact in the cave that housed all their treasures and honoured possessions. Tended to until they too passed into Elysium and the great hunters paradise. She woke three centuries ago and came into a world that was so different from the one she had left behind. It had taken her over 60 years to learn the way of the world, to see that her land was part of the Turks domain and had been for a long time. She had joined in the fight to free her home one that ended on 25th March 1821. Having been a daughter of Artemis, she had been invaluable as a gruella fighter and a myth built up around her. Now she worked in a national park, as its head ranger.

Unsure of her duty or why she was chosen to live such a long life. She hoped coming here would give her, the answers she needed.

Daphne knelt before the statue, her calm expanding out towards the wolf and her cubs and bowed her head in prayer, wondering if this time, the goddess would explain.


	10. old memories, even older faces

Alexios looked around his sister’s house sipping the beer she gave him. Her library and room of memories was a room to behold. He arched an eyebrow as he saw his old armour in a case. The cult had called him a demi-god, the son of Ares or Zeus or even Hera, depending on which cultist you talked to at the time. It had taken him a long time to discover who he really was, but there was a part of him that was still Deimos. It always would be and, no matter how much it pained his big sister to think of him in that manner, he was practical about such things. He had been Deimos long before he discovered who Alexios was. Still seeing his old armour sent a tingle up his spine, and that was not a good thing. It was as if the thing called out to him. If it had done so after he had been reunited with his family, then he might have sunk back into that persona. As it was, he called upon Deimos when he was working, other than that he was Alexios Agiad, son of Myrinne and grandson of Leonidas, little brother to the Eagle Bearer. That was what kept his feet firmly planted in the here and now.

When he had re-joined his family, Kassandra had asked him if he wanted to go with her, to meet their real father. She had already completed the tasks that he had set her and he had gone, more to sate his own curiosity, he just hadn’t expected what happened next, both of them side by side through Elysium, the underworld and finally Atlantis, to discover that they were both in fact demi-gods of a nature. Human Isu hybrids. More than human and on a par with the ones that came before.

He looked at his arms, almost tribal in nature the marks glowed when he was in battle, just like his sister. They had stormed the battlefield and within months rumours circulated that they truly had been the children of gods. Which god depended on who was in the battle. It didn’t matter how many times the siblings denied that they were gods or children of gods, it didn’t stop two new cults gaining ground. Some areas of Greece worshipped the Eagle Bearer, daughter of Zeus, the tale went that Zeus appeared to Myrinne in the form of a wolf, seduced her and impregnated her, hence the birth of the Eagle Bearer and the Mercenaries invoked her name in battle, when they came face to face with her, they were more likely to fall into line with her and join her in battle rather than fight her.

With him the fable went that Ares appeared as great Lion, bigger than the Macedonian Lion, stalked and, like Zeus seduced Myrinne, impregnating her and along came Deimos, the force of war incarnate, his name invoked on many a battle field, when he fought for Sparta against the Athenians or anyone else who threatened the Spartan way of life, the soldiers flocked to him and the calls for either Alexios or Kassandra to become a king or queen of Sparta grew louder. Neither sibling responded to the call. Once maybe, as he had taken Athens, he might have heeded those calls, stepping into his grandfather’s shoes, but he had no wish to, that was for others to do. His sister and he carried on their grandfather’s legacy, in their own violent way.

“Drachmae for them?” Kassandra’s voice interrupted his thoughts.

Alexios snorted, Greece had not used drachmae for many years, then it was called drachma and finally the euro. “I was wondering when you were going to show me the old girl.” Alexios motioned with his arm around the room “This is a wonderful room Kass, but I want to see the old girl.”

Kassandra glanced at the calander on her wall and picked up a bottle of red wine. “Come on, it is Barnabas birthday today, lets go share a drink with him.”

“Lead on.” Alexios fell into step next to her and followed her through her home.

The stone steps led down from the house were worn and well-trod. Kassandra had walked this path many a time over the years. Sometimes to be alone and sit with old ghosts, other times to repair things here and there.

As the torch light shone through, she lit each torch until a burning pathway illuminated the way. Alexios looked around him and as the last three torches were lit, he felt his jaw drop as the light illuminated the massive ship before him. He did not have the same bond as his sister with this beautiful vessel; but he had grown to love the Andrestia as he had grown to love Barnabas. The old sea dog had so many tales it stirred the forgotten childhood inside the once broken man.

“You know, the Andrestia is named for the goddess of revolt.” Alexios finally said as he ran his hand along the smooth wood, almost as if he was reunited with a long-lost friend. “The daughter of Ares and Aphrodite.”

“She who cannot be escaped” Kassandra smiled a little “Well to our targets that was certainly true, and on occassions it did feel as if the goddess was with us.” Kassandra stepped onto the deck and lit the torches either side of the mast.

She had many figureheads acquired over the years, but her favourite had been the eagle, with the sail of the Minotaur.

“It is amazing how she has not succumbed to the ages.” Alexios joined her on the command deck and lent on the railing. “I stood beside Mater, behind me was Pater and then Stentor.” Alexios mused and saw his sister’s expression “I wish I had been on board that day sister.” He rested his hand on her shoulder “I would have done more than given him a cowards mark.”

“I wanted to.” Kassandra clenched her fist and watched as it glowed a little, the power of the Isu coming to her command, as easily as she swung a sword. “But Barnabas would not have wanted me to, and besides, giving him the brand of a coward made his life fucking harder.”

“It did that, I kept tabs on him for a while after mater passed, he tried to go back to the Spartan army but the mark, the men would beat him before sending him on his way, usually bloody and bruised and tossed in the gutter. No merc band would take him and even bandits, the lowest of the low, wouldn’t touch him. The Athenians wouldn’t touch him with a barge pole, unless it was to string him up for being the “son” of the wolf.” Alexios swallowed his beer “more like “joke” of the wolf.”

“Speaking of the Wolf,” Kassandra set three glasses on the railing and changed the subject, talking about the past was good, sharing their memories made her smile, talking about Stentor turned her stomach. “You saw pater?”

Alexios nodded “He told me he was proud of me, but I already knew that, it showed in the way he accepted I would not welcome him with open arms straight away. He did stand by as they prepared to throw me off Taygetos, and then threw you off, but eventually I grew close to him. I even found myself wanting to be the Son of the Wolf.”

“Mater was so pleased when you and Nikolaos reconciled.” Kassandra mused lighting a couple of candles and setting them a certain distance apart.

“But he did give me a warning.” Alexios set his beer down and folded his arms across his chest, “Beware the coward behind the veneer of civility, shame in the form of man.”

Kassandra arched an eyebrow “Well that’s certainly cryptic.”

“Hmm. This maybe the modern world Kassandra,” He took the wine glass from her “but when the dead speak from Elysium, then the modern world goes out the window. I always listen to the dead when they deign to speak.”

Kassandra thought over what Alexios said and made murmur of agreement, “Has mater ever visited you?”

“No, not that I recall, you?” She shook her head “I am sure she will when she feels the need, or maybe she is spending time with grandpater, fishing.” He gave flashed her a grin and she nodded.

“If I known mater, she will be spending all her time with grandpater fishing.” Kassandra stood beside him and set a third glass on the railing. She raised her own glass. “Happy birthday Barnabas, may your journeys in the seas of Elysium be peaceful and eventful for you. Regale the spirits of the dead with your wonderous tales and enjoy your birthday, we miss you, old man.”

“Happy journeys you old sea dog.” Alexios added and sipped the wine. Alexios lent on the side of the ship and down into the waters “Did you ever tell him about the real gods of Olympos?” He called it by the name the Isu gave it.

Kassandra joined him and shook her head, mirroring his posture. “He already believed you and I were children of the gods. He was such a deeply religious man. A simple man who believed that the gods had a hand in everything. I couldn’t break that for him and I wouldn’t have. We still believe in them, we still call upon them we still honour them, even knowing the truth about them. It was hard enough for us to understand the Isu and their power, how could I expect a man like Barnabas to understand?”

“You’re right, it took us a while to understand.” Alexios sniffed and looked around him once more “So if the cave entrance is opened once more, and the sea water out there, floods in here the Andrestia will what? Crumble?”

“Yeah.” Kassandra nodded “Won’t be instant, but in a few weeks or months she will start to completely break down and rot.” Kassandra ran her fingers along the wood “within a year she will be gone.”

“Then we better make sure it does not happen.” Alexios nudged her “or else how else are we to toast the old man on his birthday.”

Kassandra laughed and rested her head on Alexios’s shoulder for a moment. That moment was soon broken as a female voice cut through their conversastion.

“It is good that you honour old dead friends.” The siblings turned and stared “but it is time that even older friends came together to do what we should have done years ago.”

“You!” Alexios and Kassandra both said at the same time.

“Yes. Me” Aspasia bowed her head and then smiled that alluring smile of hers. The shock on the sibling’s faces did not fade. 


	11. Together Again

Kassandra was too shocked for a moment to even ask how Aspasia got in her house. If it was another time and place, she might have appreciated the long legs and the way the suit accented her curves and other assets. Kassandra clenched her fists as the shock began to wear off and they glowed, as they so often did when she was angry, her markings glowed but, a hand on her shoulder from Alexios calmed her. Didn’t calm the anger but it stopped her from reacting.

The last time she had seen Aspasia had been under the temple of Apollo, that memory had stuck well in her head. She watched with narrowed eyes as the former Ghost of the Cult of Kosmos made her way down to the dock. “It is still a beautiful ship” Aspasia complimented “She was the most feared vessel on the Aegean in her time. Pirates would turn tail and run from her, even Athenian and Spartan vessels thought twice before attacking her. I though she had sunk a long time ago, like so many of our fine ships. It is good to see she is still here.”

“How are you still here?” Alexios finally found his voice, asking the question that was running through his sisters’ mind.

“I am sure you have questions Deimos.”

“His name is Alexios!” Kassandra finally spoke although it had a hint of warning in her tone.

“Apologies Eagle Bearer I meant no disrespect.” Aspasia inclined her head.

It might be the 21st century but she still carried herself as if she was in the Athenian court of 3000 years ago. If it had been anywhere else it might have worked, but this was Kassandra’s home and Aspasia did not rule here.

“You are not Isu hybrid.” Kassandra folded her arms across her chest “So how is it you are still here? I heard you died on Kos. I heard the cultists threw you off a mountain!” There was irony in that.

Aspasia had manipulated everything around her even the Pythia, into making that absurd declaration that had started her odyssey, throw the child of Myrinne off the mountain, fitting she herself should have suffered the same fate.

“They did and it took me months to recover.” Aspasia brushed a flex of dirt off her shoulder “Perhaps we should discuss this somewhere more…comfortable?”

Alexios looked at his sister, this was her home but if they knew the Ghost, they knew she wouldn’t give up any information here. “Maybe it is for the best.”

Kassandra snorted and doused the candles. “This I have to hear.” She sarcastically said before walking back upto her home.

Alexios made a sarcastic sweep of his arm “After you Christina or Aspasia or whatever you are calling yourself these days.”

“Does it even matter, we all change our faces to suit the circumstances Alexios.” Aspasia muttered.

Alexios didn’t answer, but the dark glower remained on his face as he followed the former Cult leader up the stairs. Alexios was what he was, a warrior, the incarnation of war and destruction and, had he still been Deimos as he had once been, then he would have been one of the most powerful warlords on the face of this planet, but he wasn’t. He was the second Agiad child and just as powerful as his older sister. He had a connection, a bond with his sister that had helped show him what harm had been done to him, but being in the same vicinity as Aspasia made the part of him, he kept caged except when he was working twitch. He might not let Deimos out much, but he still listened to that dark voice on occasion, especially now when it was telling him not to trust the former political heavyweight that was Aspasia of Ionia, and the former leader of the Cult before he had come into his power.

Alexios had seen how Kassandra had been after her confrontation with Aspasia in the old meeting place, he had seen how her heart had been broken a second time and he was not about to let it happen again, not at the hands of this woman. Kassandra may have felt it was her duty not to let her brother down and have his back, but that went both ways. He walked through the door, and closed it, noticing that his sister had closed the door to her library and display room, he saw her pocket the key as she walked towards her lounge. Alexios dug his hands in his trouser pockets and watched as Aspasia cast an inquiring look towards the now locked door. He could only imagine what she might do if she got her hands on the staff of Hermes Trismegistus. It had already driven several people mad who had tried to wield it, Pythagoras and Layla Hussain to name but two. It couldn’t bestow immortality on Aspasia, because clearly she was already that, but she had always been ambitious and the power of the staff was such that it would build her ambitions and corrupt her, the only one it couldn’t corrupt was his sister, even he didn’t touch it, even being near that thing had caused him to have darker thoughts at times. His sister however had become, how did she put it, entwinned with the staff, thus she was able to resist its very strong persuasive voice. He doubted anyone else could, or ever would.

Alexios crouched down and made himself useful by making a fire, although he kept an eye on Aspasia as she looked at the pictures on the walls. He glanced at his sister and saw her expression, and suddenly was very glad he was here. His sister looked like she wanted to kill. They had managed to work passed a lot of their turbulent past, come to some sort of peace with how their lives had been stage managed. By a cult that was barely a hundred years old at the time. First Kassandra had to deal with news of the murder of Kyra, then she had to endure the animosity of the Daughters of Artemis because she refused to kill Daphne, and finally the revelation that Aspasia, her lover had been the Ghost of Kosmos. That betrayal, in the Eagle Bearers eyes had been the worst. Daphne’s animosity had been based on tradition and a strict adherence to the laws of Artemis, that you could understand. Kassandra didn’t like it, but she understood it. She hadn’t cried when the father of her child had died. Although she had torn Greece apart looking for her kidnapped son. The revelation that Aspasia had been the architect of their misfortune had hit her like a sledgehammer, one that she had never really recovered from. The expression on her face told him that. For the moment though, Alexios remained silent.

Kassandra watched as Aspasia took her time looking around her home, she was obviously curious as to why the Eagle Bearer had locked off her library, simple truth was, Kassandra did not trust her, she did not want her to see anything in that room, and she most certainly did not want her to see the Isu weapons Kassandra had. Aspasia might not be a member of the Cult of Kosmos but, that did not mean she was not connected to the Order and a woman like her would always look for an angle, a hook, a way to get ahead. She was not going to get ahead on anything that Kassandra had.

“Have you finished scrutinising my home?” Kassandra asked handing Alexios a drink and setting a drink on the table for her “guest”. She ran her finger round the tumbler as her dark brown eyes never once left her former loves face.

“You built this yourself?” Aspasia asked, obviously impressed.

“No, I had people do it.” Kassandra told her. She had the designs drawn up and the brotherhood had only been too pleased to build the home she wanted. Nothing over extravagant but big enough so that she could live and work in relative peace. Or so she thought.

“So, you were born Kassandra of Sparta, became known as the Eagle-Bearer and, I understand, became the Keeper and the Dikastes of Poseidon.”

“You are very well informed.” Alexios joined his sisters’ side, a troubled frown creasing his brow. How did she know that, it was never spoken about outside of himself and their family?

“Oh, Hera told me much, as she condemned me to eternal life.” Aspasia stared into the flames. The siblings exchanged looks.

“Hera cursed you? Why would the queen of the gods do that? You had all but usurped them with this Kosmos creation of yours” Kassandra was sceptical.

“Kosmos was not my creation Kassandra.” Aspasia turned sharply. “Kosmos has always been there, your own father termed the name. Pythagoras was one of the first of the Order of Kosmos, seeking to bring order to chaos.”

“What?” Alexios’s eyes widened “Is this true, Pythagoras formed the order that destroyed our family?”

“He was one of the founding fathers of it, yes.” Aspasia sipped her drink. “When he formed the cult, it was something to find order, how to create order in a place of chaos.”

“I don’t care.” Kassandra finally cut in, “I don’t care who founded the order. Whatever his intentions were, you and yours corrupted it. There was no Philosopher King Aspasia, there is no order to control chaos, there must always be both. For one without the other would lead to complete anarchy.” Kassandra narrowed her eyes “Pythagoras was always an arrogant man in that he thought he could unravel the wills of the gods. You encouraged those actions; I still have the letters you sent to the sages to prove your part in it all.”

“He was still your father and Alexios’ too” Aspasia, never one to accept guilt for any of her actions, and always had an answer. “Your Isu blood came from your mother, not your father, this you both know.”

“What is it that you want!” Kassandra growled in anger.

“Abstergo, which as you know is the modern front of the Templars. When the Templars first flourished, they were knights of supreme piety, until they were betrayed for their gold and their secrets. All that they achieved over the centuries have now been corrupted. You must have realised how, regimented they have become.”

“So?” Alexios asked “They have adapted as have the Assassins, but we are not members of the Assassins,”

Aspasia allowed a smile to curve her face “Ah Alexios, the brotherhood revere you both, but you are both going to have to realise that it is all coming full circle and that the gods have their own toys to play with.”

“You didn’t answer my question.” Kassandra stated Flatley “Why would Hera curse you with immortality?”

“To undo that which I helped create.” Aspasia winced at the memory. Hera had not been kind in her words. “To help you and Alexios against your biggest enemy.”

“And who would that be?” Alexios sarcastically asked.

“The new owner of Abstergo, someone you both know very well.”

“Cut the fucking dramatics Aspasia.” Kassandra snapped “I have no time for it.”

Aspasia chuckled a little and taking a letter from one of her own spies she handed it over to the former Misthios. Kassandra looked at it and raising her gaze met Aspasia’s as she handed the letter to Alexios.

“Stentor?” Alexios exclaimed “You are saying that Stentor is still alive too?”

“A servant of Hekate no less, it is by her whim that he still lives.” Aspasia looked at both siblings, from one to the other. “Stentor is the head of Abstergo and has been for ten years.”


	12. Kyra

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For LMJuniper

_427BC, Mykonos, Paradise Silver Islands, Greece._

_Every day she watched the horizon, waiting to see if the familiar sail, or the great figurehead of the feared Andrestia would appear on the horizon, wondering if she would see the ship or that beautiful eagle first. At first, she understood that she would not see her Kassandra for some time, it was to be expected after all, she had a cult to kill, and Kyra had been leader of Mykonos ever since the Eagle-Bearer had killed Poldarkes. Of course, it eventually had got out that she was his daughter, but by then, the good she had done for the people of Mykonos and Delos had been such that no one really cared. _

_Through her own cunning and a group of Spartan warriors who had been friends of the Eagle-Bearer she had managed to keep the Athenians from getting their hands on her islands again. A Polemarch named Demenaious had arrived a few weeks after Kassandra had left, told he that he had been asked to aid Kyra in keeping Athenian hands off these islands of sacred Apollo and Artemis’s birth. Word had reached her that the Eagle-Bearer had destroyed the cult and been reunited with her family, word had also reached her that the Andrestia was on its way. _

_Kyra could barely contain herself, so much so that she would ask the amused Polemarch if Kassandra had changed in the two years since she had last seen her. _

_“Relax Kyra,” Demenaious had put his hands on her shoulders to calm her. “Kassandra is, Kassandra.”_

_“What if the King has another task for her and we cannot see each other again!” Three times they had arranged to meet and three times Archidamos had forced Kassandra to change her plans. “Sometimes I wonder if I shouldn’t just…leave her be, she is important now.”_

_“Kyra, if I know Kassandra, and I know her well enough, not even Poseidon’s storms, or Zeus and Hera’s arguments will keep her from you this time. However, I will be leaving soon. My men and I are being called to Sparta, there will be a replacement garrison sent to ensure you and your people remain under our protective arm.” _

_Kyra nodded in understanding, Sparta rotated the garrison and her friend had been here longer than most. “Look after yourself Demenaious.” She kissed his cheek._

_“I will not be leaving for another month yet, but I long to see my wife, my son and my new daughter.” He smiled a little. His wife had come to visit him a year ago, now he had a daughter to go see and coo over. _

_“How old is she now?”_

_" Three months.” Demenaious put his hands to his side “and according to the last intake of Spartans, she is everything like her mater. I think my son and I will be in trouble.” _

_Kyra chuckled “Maters are created to keep their sons in line, daughters are created to give their paters grey hairs before their time.” The smirking Polemarch nodded in agreement and brought his arm across his chest. _

_“I will go see if any of the ships coming in have seen the Andrestia, or if my men have seen her colours. Don’t forget Kyra, Kassandra changes the appearance every so often, better to track her prey that way.”_

_“That might have worked in the beginning, but now everyone knows what that ship looks like.” Kyra pointed out, but thanked the Spartan and walked out with him, parting ways as she made her way to the alter of Artemis._

_Kyra bade her bodyguards leave her in peace. Four men made up of two Spartans and two of her former rebels. The men chatted and even though they kept their eye on their leader, and friend, they also appreciated the view around them. The Islands of the Sun god and goddess of the hunt were the best they had ever seen. _

_No one saw the assassin who approached the kneeling Kyra, no one heard a sound as the assassin drove the dagger into Kyra’s back, through her kidneys then ripped up to her lungs. This was a brutal death; the cultist assassin had been ordered to kill the one person the Eagle-Bearer loved above all others. She had her hand over the dying Kyra’s mouth and drove the blade once more into her heart then stepped back and watched as the leader of the Delos Islands died, blood pouring from her wounds. Taking the clasp, she had been given, the assassin left it on the body and calmly walked away. It was only the screams of the priestess that alerted the guards to what had happened. _

_“By the gods!” Granitas, the lead Hoplite yelled “did no one see anything! FIND THE KILLER THEY WILL BE SOAKED IN BLOOD! FIND THEM!”_

_Demenaious sat on the dock as the Andrestia began her docking manoeuvre. He dismissed his guard and stood to his feet and watched as the Eagle-Bearer stepped off the deck. She wore the armour of a hero of Sparta and by the gods she wore it well. He only wished he was taking her to see Kyra and not Kyra’s body. He could tell by her face that she had been informed. _

_He had told each captain that left the docks in the days that followed to inform the Eagle-Bearer should they see her, what had happened. “Kassandra.” He walked upto her and held his hand out, gripping hers as warrior to warrior, then drew her into a hug. “We have the assassin, Granitas caught her trying to escape on a merchant ship.”_

_Kassandra nodded “Take me to Kyra.”_

_“Of course, but she will need to be … sent to Elysium tonight Kassandra, there is only so long we can hold her body before the decay sets in.”_

_“Have the arrangements been taken care off?”_

_“The Priestess’s purified her body with oils and scent. Come I will take you.” _

_Barnabas and Alexios walked just behind Kassandra and Alexios took in the view of what was around him. He had never been here, but to see it now, he asked Barnabas if it was true that this island was built on the bones of giants. Barnabas nodded. “I will tell you the tale young Alexios, once we have paid our respects to Kyra.”_

_“Tell me about Kyra” Alexios asked “I did not realise my sister held her in such regard.”_

_Barnabas’s eyes watered a little as he sought to find the right words. “She was fire and courage, she fought for her people against Poldarkes, and he was an evil bastard before the cult brought him in to their fold. She matched Kassandra in temperament and fierce dedication and loyalty to those she loved, and, even though time and tide kept them apart for long periods, Kyra never loved another.” _

_Alexios nodded solemnly. Kassandra had been jumping on deck when the islands came into view, when the Spartan commander of the Ares Wrath had signalled her and informed her what had happened, she had ordered the crew to row faster and had taken herself below deck. _

_Kyra’s body was lain, dressed in the regalia of a leader. Kassandra walked over and ran her hand along Kyra’s arm and down to her hand. If only that storm had not forced them into Naxos for repairs, she would have been here sooner. _

_“Gaia,” Kassandra quietly said and put both her hands either side of Kyra’s face, “Earth mother of all, I greet you,” She kissed her forehead “Aniazou” She rested her head against Kyra’s cold forehead and after a moment she stood straighter. Kassandra felt a loneliness that threatened to envelope her, and consume her. She walked out of the room and down to where they were holding the prisoner. _

_The sounds that came from that room, made even Alexios shudder. Kassandra was not leaving until she had a name of the fuck who had ordered Kyra’s assassination. Fists with spikes along the knuckles tore chunks of skin from the woman’s face. If she had survived this then she would have been scarred for life. _

_Another punch almost punctured the neck, “WHO ORDERED THIS?” The Eagle-Bearer roared and bubbled blood laughter was her only answer. _

_This time Kassandra kept punching until the face began to cave in, she did not stop until the brain was open and pouring onto the floor. “You will not get to Elysium; you will wander the halls of the shadowy dead where none will ever know your name.” She seethed. “Hades owes me one” She drove her fist into the pulpy mess and closed her eyes as blood covered her face and hand. Getting to her feet, the Misthios breathed harshly and ran a bloody hand across her eyes. Stayed in the room for an hour and only came out when Barnabas told her through the door that they were about to start Kyra’s funeral pyre. _

Rome, Italy, 2018

The woman awoke with a scream, clutching her chest and frantically, scrambled out of bed and into her bathroom, she tore her nightshirt off to see if she was bleeding anywhere, or if there were holes in her.

Only when she was certain that she had no holes, that her body was in one piece and not consumed by fire did she run the cold tap and splash her face with water. Several times she splashed her face with water and then lent over the sink, the water dripping from her face and off her nose.

She had always had nightmares as a child, thoughts of having to run and hide, or to fight, at one point when her mother had cut herself while gardening, she had run screaming as a child into the house and hid in a toy chest. When her father had come home and, sat her on his knee asking her what was wrong, did she say that the men in blue armour were going to kill her mama.

Over the years she had become more and more insistent that people were out to kill her mother and her father was behind it, there was no rational explanation for such outbursts and the last straw had been, when a nightmare so violent propelled her out of her bed when she 14 and straight into her fathers study with a metal baseball bat attacking him screaming at him and calling him Poldarkes. Her father survived but her parents, so concerned for their daughter had her put in a sanatorium for her own good.

At that point she started speaking in Greek, not an unusual occurrence, her father had been Greek, but she was speaking in a dialect of Greek that had long been dead. When people called her name she told them her name was not Maria but Kyra, and over time she developed two distinct personalities, Maria the quiet studious girl with her nose in her books, and Kyra the rebel, the one who balked at authority and would loudly declare that her eagle friend would come and rescue her.

Diagnosed with Schizophrenia and other personality disorders, it was believed that she would never be able to function in normal society again. When she was 20 the nightmares stopped and for another 4 years, she became a normal person, so much so that it was believed she would now be ready for life outside. She was given an apartment in Rome, and a social worker and health visitor would come and see her once a week, to make sure she had everything she needed and that she was taking her pills.

Her parents visited once but that was all. She did not see them again. She got herself a job in a bar, kept herself pretty much to herself and for a time the nightmares did not bother her. On her days off she would be found sitting on the banks of the Tiber, drawing old warriors or old ships. Her art was so beautiful that eventually an art studio picked it up, sold it on and now Maria was an artist of renown. She was discovered by other companies who commissioned her to do their clients covers or even comic book companies, but all in all she kept herself to herself, even lovers came and went and she did not settle down.

Raising her head, she almost yelped as she saw the blonde-haired woman standing behind her. Dressed in what looked like a military uniform, except on her shoulder sat a large eagle owl. She was taller than Maria by at least a couple of foot, on her wrists were lines that glowed as were those that lined parts of her face. “Do you know who I am?” the woman asked, the owl watching her intently.

Maria shook her head, and turning she opened her medicine cabinet, wondering if she had taken her pills or forgotten them. She closed her eyes tight, muttering that this was not happening, that it was lack of sleep causing her to see giant glowing women.

“Open your eyes child, you are not mad, you are sane and I am Athena.”

Maria opened her eyes and turned back round, cocking her head at the ancient goddess before her.

“It is time you went home, Kyra.”

“No, no, no, my name is Maria.” Maria adamantly stated.

“No, you are Kyra of Mykonos, you were taken from this world before your time, and I took your soul from Elysium so that you may be reborn in this time.”

“NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!” Maria clutched her head and tangled her fingers in her long brown hair, shutting her blue eyes tight and shaking her head. She was Maria Constanza not this Kyra, her doctors had said it was just an imaginary persona nothing more.

Athena’s eyes softened; she had been afraid this might happen. Sometimes when a reincarnated soul returned, they remembered the events that led to their first death, and, if violent, they would resurface violently, evidently this had happened here, and fractured this poor woman’s mind.

The owl moved onto the stand near the toilet and Athena walked over, placed her hands on the woman’s shaking trembling shoulders. She pressed her lips to her forehead “Calm yourself but Kyra wake up.” Maria’s eyes glowed blue for a moment then settled back into its normal shade. “Come Maria,” Athena led her gently to her lounge, “let me make you a tea and heal your fractured mind when I am done, you will be able to control it all better.”

From inside Maria’s soul, the soul of Kyra of Mykonos started its slow takeover and regeneration.


	13. Discussions

_Thera, June 420 BC._

_“You never ask me where I want to go!” Stentor folded his arms over his chest “I want to see Atlantis, as you and Alexios saw it.” _

_Kassandra gripped the rail of the command deck and closing her eyes, counted to ten. For the last week Stentor had been harping on about wanting to see Atlantis. To see if the tale he had heard was true, that Kassandra and Alexios had both set foot in the city of the ancients. _

_Kassandra waved her hand at the volcanic blasted island “That is Atlantis Stentor, that is what is left of her, we call her Thera now.”_

_“No! That is not Atlantis, that is the remains of a volcano, I want to see the real Atlantis.”_

_“You cannot see the real Atlantis, it is gone,” She turned her back and pinched the bridge of her nose. Since their pater had passed Stentor had become more demanding in his need to clarify what the siblings had done. He barely believed the tales that the old bastard near him told, this he found to be an outright lie. _

_“Then the tales about you are just more lies.” Stentor looked at the crew on the deck a smug smile on his face, If he could turn them against her, then he could use the Andrestia to do his whim. Unfortunately for Stentor, he underestimated the depth of feeling the crew had for the captain. A couple of the Spartan crew began to move towards the man, the intention to throw him over the side growing more stronger. _

_“ENOUGH” Barnabas stood between them both “Kassandra cannot take you where the gods do not want you to go. This is all that is left of Atlantis.” Barnabas tried to point out “be happy with that, it is not for us mortals to see.”_

_Stentor glared as the navigator turned his back to try and calm Kassandra down, the gods knew that since he had joined the crew, he had usurped her authority at any given moment. Barnabas had forgotten the amount of times he had to calm the crew and prevent them from throwing the young brother over the side for the sharks. _

_Stentor, for his part, detested the old sea dog and without thought he took his dagger and grabbing Barnabas round his neck drove it straight into his back. “Your interference was not necessary.” He let Barnabas’s body fall; the damage done. _

_Kassandra heard the body fall and turned to see Stentor standing with a bloody dagger, two of her lieutenants who bore a remarkable resemblance to Athena and Herakles grabbed Stentor and held him fast. _

_Kassandra’s eyes widened and she knelt on the command deck, gathering Barnabas to her. “No, no, no, no,” She whispered “Barnabas, Ella, Ella, ELLA!” _

_Barnabas reached up a hand and put it to her face “It…it has been my honour…Kassandra.” _

_“You hold on old man.” She whispered “We will get you to port and a healer will…”_

_Barnabas smiled a little then his eyes glazed over and he saw no more. Kassandra held him to her and rocked his body for a moment. Trembling from head to toe she lay him down. Took his head in her hands and swallowed. “Gaia, Earth mother of all, I greet you.” She kissed his head “Aniazou” _

_She looked at Stentor and getting up she took her own dagger intent on burying it in the little fuck, instead another idea hit her. “Hold him!” She ordered. _

_Stentor was forced to his knees and held by his arms. Kassandra went to grab his head when he spat in her face. “He should not have got involved!” Stentor snarled. _

_“I am going to make sure no one has you in their army, their band of merc’s or the lowliest Bandit groups.” Kassandra wiped the spittle from her face. “I am going to make sure that you wander this earth alone, with no name, no country, no city state.” She gripped his head and pulled it back, yanking hard “When you die, no Elysium for you.” She cut into the side of his face; his screams fell on deaf ears. _

_Stentor had killed their beloved Barnabas; the crew were not going to stop their captain. When Kassandra stepped back the left side of Stentor’s face was a ruined mess. She ordered the ship to dock and once the Andrestia had docked at Thera, she grabbed him and threw him onto the dock. “I never want to see you again, I will strip your name from Nikolaos’s bloodline when I return to Sparta and I will see to it that no one, and I mean no one will acknowledge you” _

_Kassandra kicked him in the stomach and left him there, groaning and weeping “You are no Spartan.” Getting back on her ship she picked Barnabas’s body up and took him below deck, asking that the ships priest of Poseidon join her, so that the old mans body could be prepared properly. “Set sail for Mykonos” She ordered “Someone write a message to Leida on Mykonos, and send it with Ikarus” _

_Leida had moved to Mykonos with her family a few years ago, it had been her fathers home after all. She took over an old farm and, like she had in Attika, she had made a success of this farm too. Now the old man would get to go home, get to be with his Leida again, if the gods were willing to allow them to be reunited. _

“Kassandra” Kassandra’s mind returned to the present and she looked once again at the spies letter. “You were miles away.”

“Stentor is an old name, could be anyone.” She told Aspasia sharply.

“After you put the mark on his face, I don’t think anyone named their son Stentor for fear of bringing the wrath of the Eagle-Bearer on their heads.” Aspasia darkly chuckled. She took her phone out and swiped through to an old vidmail. “This footage was taken the night Shaun Hastings died.”

“The glasses wearing know it all historian?” Alexios asked. “He’s dead?”

“Yes, he was caught in London some years ago. One of my people had been there trying to negotiate the terms for the return of marble frescos stolen from the Pantheon. A couple of centuries before.” Aspasia explained as she turned the TV on and sent the image from her phone to the TV.

Sure, enough the video showed Shaun Hastings, hanging upside down. The footage was remarkably clear, given that it was a rainy evening. The lighting around the London Eye helped too. The famous assassin was bloody, his face a beaten mess of blood and torn shredded skin. The man beside him neither sibling knew who he was. Aspasia did though.

“Adam Gray” She told them, “the commander of Taygetos Squad, the hunters of Abstergo. He had spent weeks trailing Hastings and captured him outside Dover port in the south east of England.”

Kassandra nodded once, committing the face to memory. A young-looking man with dirty blonde hair and a few scars on his face and neck. He had seen some sort of military service judging by the way he bore himself.

The film panned around to show another figure standing beside Gray. Both Alexios and Kassandra’s eyes widened as the features of their adoptive brother came into view. He beat the near dead assassin some more then nodded and watched dispassionately as the body of Shaun Hastings was cut down and left to fall to the floor.

“Since when did he get so mean?” Alexios murmured once Aspasia had turned the footage off. “He was always a woe is me little wretch.”

“Revenge is a powerful motivator.” Aspasia explained.

“He stabbed an innocent man in the back!” Alexios clenched his fist “He should have gone to Tartarus or left to rot in the eternal battlefield.”

“And you two pissed Hekate off” Aspasia reminded them.

“Hera filled you in then” Kassandra sighed and got up. Honestly this was getting to be too dramatic for her liking. Bad enough she discovers that Aspasia was still alive and kicking but this…and all because both her and Alexios pissed off Hekate.

“The gods are, not happy with the way the world is now.”

“Oh, so you’re their spokesperson, now are you?” Kassandra sarcastically said. 

“Someone has to be I suppose”

“And what? They chose someone who took a what theoretical theory and turned it into a god to usurp them to be their voice?” Kassandra laughed. The idea was so ludicrous to her that it almost sounded like something out of a fantasy movie.

“The gods are going to be heard again Kass,” Aspasia told her “Just not sure how they are going to manage it.”

“I am sure they will find a way.” Alexios saw his sister flinch as Aspasia called her Kass. “However, that aside, our immediate problem is, how do we beat a man who has the witch goddess as his patron?”

“We had better warn our friends in the Brotherhood too.” Kassandra mused and swallowed some of her drink.

“This is going to need planning and this time the Brotherhood is about as trustworthy as the Order.” Aspasia looked out the window and across to the gulf of Laconia. The winter sun was shining across it and she saw a cruise ship make its way around the Gulf, obviously it was going to put into port here so that the tourists on board could make their way to onto land and travel to Sparta, everyone who came to Greece wanted to go see Sparta. Old and new, not to mention the Mycenaean ruins that were dotted about the landscape.

She also suspected that they would leave here and travel to Crete, where they could then go see Thera or Santorini as it was known today. Greece had a wealth of stories, but many people today wanted to see the big hitters, the land of Leonidas, the land of Pericles, the Minoans and everything in between. It was just a shame that her land was a shadow of what it had been, it upset her that in todays climate, everything she thought would come to be, failed spectacularly. If nothing else she had been correct in that Greece was now a republic, no king to rule over it, no kings to declare war on each other.

Aspasia had watched the fortunes of both Templars and Assassins wax and wane over the centuries. Sometimes the Templars came out on top, other times the Assassins, but somewhere along the line, they forgot what they were formed for, they forgot the oaths and goals of the ancients, and now only sought to perpetuate their own visions in their own way.

“Are the assassins still after pieces of Eden?” She asked finally.

“When aren’t they?” Alexios sighed “That’s all it seems to be about now.”

“And what happened to the Heir of Memories?”

“She was not what the gods thought she would be.” Kassandra muttered.

Once Kassandra had handed the staff over, she was on her way, out of the remnants of Atlantis ready to find out why she had not died like her father had when he handed the staff over, she had been pulled back to Atlantis a few weeks later to discover that Layla had gone insane. She took the staff back and brought it here. The curse of Hermes had struck again.

It seemed only Kassandra could keep the power of the staff at bay. That was what it was, she didn’t like it but, if no one else could be trusted to keep the staff in check, better her than someone who might blow up the world.

Kassandra had always believed there was a place for chaos and order, that one without the other was dangerous. Too much chaos and the world would be forever death and destruction, too much order and nothing would ever change, it would stagnate, this was the balance and nether Assassins or Templars could see that. They wanted to impose their way on the world and the world would not be better for it.

As for Stentor being the grand master of the Templars now…well that was going to make life so much more difficult. If he was Hekate’s pawn, well she shuddered to think what else he was going to do. He always was a snivelling little shit. He might have made a mighty Spartan warrior once, but he always wanted things his way, sending others to do his work then reaping the glory for himself, as best she could recall, he never truly had the respect of his men. They followed him because Spartan military doctrine taught them too. Now though, well from that video she could tell he had men that would follow him to Tartarus and beyond. Payment in blood she supposed. If she had her way, she’d let them assassins and templars kill each other and be done with it. The world would be better off for it. Yet long ago she had sworn to her baby son, that she would fight for him and for those that came after him. She made the same promise to her other son and daughter. Still didn’t mean she had to like what they had become.

“So, if you have the ear of the queen of the gods, what does she want us to do?”

Aspasia glanced at Alexios and Kassandra “She wants us to end the Order and the Brotherhood. Redress the balance as it were.” Aspasia rubbed her brow “and that means, starting a new order.”


	14. Meeting of the gods.

The Elysium/Underworld Portal.

The guards of the underworld waited patiently; it would not do to look like they were bored out of their minds. Especially when their lord and master paced the width of the portal. The other gods had arrived earlier. Now they were waiting on one, and she was certainly making him wait.

In the centuries since he had lost his fight with the Keeper and her brother Hades had been a different man. He was still a force to be reckoned with and for a time he was a god without a throne. Until the Keeper came back to seal the rifts she had caused and gave him back his throne.

_“You are the lord of the underworld, the dread jailer of Tartarus I have also brought you a gift, to show no ill will.” _

She had presented him with a dog, a fierce looking beast, one that, this time followed him around. Once he had slipped the collar on him, he became Cerberus. The fifth gate of the underworld had it’s guardian once more. Hades had been, pleased with the gift and even Charon had noticed his master had cooled a little more. Loosing Ros, the first time had left him in a bad, foul mood and the dead had suffered because of it.

Now with Ros back by his side, he was still the dread master, but he was not as foul tempered as he had been, except for now. The Ferryman had much to do, a battle on earth was bringing more dead into his realm and he had other realms to take the worthy and unworthy too. However, he had been asked by Hades to attend this, arrival.

“I don’t have much more time Hades.” Charon whispered “If she doesn’t appear soon, I am going to have to leave, or the dead will start rioting and you don’t want that.”

Hades shook his head and was about to tell Charon to leave when the portal opened and the beautiful Persephone made her way through the gate. The guards of the underworld moved to one knee, in the presence of their queen. Even if she did not want to be their queen.

“Hades.” She greeted and then looked at the hound by his side. “New pet I see.”

“Ros reborn.” Hades rested his gloved hand on the dogs head. His collar removed for now so that he didn’t scare those who resided here until the ferryman took them across.

Persephone arched an elegant eyebrow “You never told me.”

“You never asked.” Hades took her hand and kissed the back of it “Come the others are waiting, as is your mother.”

“What not pleading with me to stay? No bargaining for me to return?” She sneered a little.

Hades shook his head “Nope.”

“What? Who are you? The Hades I know would try to keep me here!”

Hades rolled his eyes. After thousands of years of trying to win her heart was it any wonder, he had given up the ghost? She was the Queen of Elysium, paradise in her hands to shape and rule as she saw fit. He would always be the god of the rest of the underworld. For six months she resided here in the underworld and for the rest of the year she would return to the surface to be with her, controlling mother.

And frankly, he was tired of her theatrics. Times had changed, people had changed, humans changed and even gods had to move with the times less they be forgotten completely. He began to walk towards his palace, the Tribute to Persephone, and cast a slight look over his shoulder. “You coming or flapping your jaw like a goldfish?”

Persephone narrowed her eyes and fell into step beside her husband. “This doesn’t change things between us you know. Once this conclave of gods is done, I am returning to Elysium.”

“As you wish.”

“I mean it Hades, I am going to be leaving, you will not have me in your bed.”

Hades glanced at her and nodded “As you wish.”

Hades held his arm out and Persephone, after a moments hesitation, and a sceptical look at her husbands new persona, rested her hand on his and they made their way to the palace.

The palace of Hades was indeed fit for the lord of the dead. He let Persephone’s hand fall and told his guard to escort her to the meeting chamber, that he would be along shortly. Hera had stood in the alcove of the honoured dead waiting for her brother in law to return and motioned him over.

“I take it is done?” he asked her. Hera nodded. “and they will attempt to undo what that stupid cow wrought in the first place?”

“That might be harder than we think” Hera ran her fingers along her brow as if she was massaging a headache. “and that’s what this is about, I just want to make sure that your…. animosity towards Kassandra and Alexios is over?”

“Its over, it was over when they gave me Ros.” Hades put his hand in his pocket “Shall we go?”

The hall was vast, statues of Hades dominated each side of the hall, as pristine as they were when they were first built. At the front of the hall were two statues of Hades and Persephone, the king and queen of the underworld. The only gods in attendance were the ones who were of import to the Old Greek world. The ones whose names were given different names by the Romans who had a habit of adopting other countries gods and making them their own.

However, unlike depictions in art or film, they were not in the old style of dress, the gods wore suits or dresses of modern design, or casual wear. They were all sat at a long table wine and food in abundance for them. 

At the head of the table sat Persephone, as her was her right as queen of the underworld. Her long blonde hair was tied into an exotic bun that was wrapped several times. Her gown left very little to the imagination, and her pale skin showed the markings of the race she was. The Goddess of the dead was also the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, Persephone had once been called the dread goddess of the dead, however in the years that followed her meeting with the Keeper, she had mellowed a little. She still ruled Elysium with an iron hand, but she had become more of a benevolent goddess and had been instrumental in the gods civil war some fifteen years ago when they finally killed Juno. Persephone along with Poseidon and Ares had made sure Juno’s body was placed deep in the bowels of an asteroid and sent far from the Earth and the solar system. Even if Juno were to somehow come back to life, she would be so far away, her presence would no longer have an impact on this world or its people. It was the cleaning up after her that was going to take time.

Beside Persephone on her left sat her mother Demeter. Her green eyes narrowed as she saw Hades re-enter the room and take his seat. The goddess of spring and Zeus’s sister as well as his former lover. Her brown hair was long and sat along her shoulder and she wore a pair of smart trousers and a jumper, the underworlds chill got to her more than any other god. Demeter had never forgiven Hades for the abduction of her daughter and she never would. It didn’t matter to her how much he had changed, she would still see the god of the dead as a snake in the grass who was not to be trusted, if she had her way he would have been put in the same asteroid as Juno, but, Zeus had told her that was not happening. The dead needed a god to look over them and judge them, without Hades down here, the dead would riot and return to the world of the living and that would cause more problems then was necessary.

Next to Demeter sat Ares, wearing a military uniform that had no real designation of country. Over the centuries his face had become more and more scarred by the ferocity of the wars that had been fought and as such his features became shrouded in a perpetual shadow. Once he had been dark haired and his tanned skin had been smooth, now his hair was grey and his eyes where they had once been blue were now a deep red. Ares had once been ridiculed by the other gods, even maligned by his father, but now, now with humans able to fight wars on some grander scale and with weapons of mass destruction, he had become a god in the ascendance. He was no longer the source of ridicule and both Zeus and Hera gave him a wide berth. He picked his beer up and sipped it. Ares had proved his worth time and time again, his father and he would never see eye to eye and his father would always sort to remind him of his place, but his mother had stopped her ridicule of her son when she realised that in the modern world of mankind, he was the god who would be the more powerful. Ares had no real followers, he had never actually accepted the adulation of those who called themselves the Followers of Ares, eating flesh was abhorrent to him. He was however, the god of Thracia and the Spartans. Even in todays world he still considered them his and woe betide anyone who tried to take them with her. His red eyes fell on Aphrodite who smiled at him in return. He tilted his head in acknowledgement and picked up some meat, turning it over in his huge fingers before putting it in his mouth.

“How are our children?” Aphrodite quietly asked him.

“They are well, have you not been to see them?” Ares rumbled. Aphrodite could not believe how far he had come from the title of most hated god. He was not a young man anymore, but his power and strength were undeniable.

“I saw them last week; I still like to know how they are when they are in your kingdom.”

Ares looked down as Aphrodite touched his fingers with her own, in plain view of not only the other gods but his father and her husband too. He curled his fingers around hers and nodded, before withdrawing his hand.

Beside Ares sat Hermes. The handsome blonde-haired son of Zeus and half brother of Ares didn’t say a lot. He saw Persephone look at him but he averted his gaze, he had not been the same with her the day she threw him to his apparent death. Of the gods around the table, Ares respected Hermes and Hermes enjoyed the company of his brother, there were those who believed that Hermes had a calming effect on the war god. Ares nudged his little brother and whispered something that made the messenger and trickster god laugh. Hermes covered his mouth as he caught their fathers look and raised his hand in an apology, regardless of wether he meant it or not. His blonde hair was shaved short with what was called skin fades either side. He wore a t-shirt that proclaimed he simply did not give a fuck and a pair of jeans that left nothing to the imagination.

Beside Hermes sat Athena, Zeus favoured oldest daughter, the goddess of war and wisdom had once held a strong rivalry with Ares, but after he had helped Persephone and Poseidon put Junos body in the asteroid, by using his warriors as a distraction to keep Juno’s minions at bay, there had been a respect born between the two gods of war. They would never be bosom buddies but as personifications of war, they were both in ascendance.

“How did your meeting with Kyra go?” Hermes asked his sister.

“Not good.” Athena sighed, pulling the sleeve of her shirt down.

“How do you mean?” Ares asked.

“Her old soul is fighting her new soul; it has fractured her mind for want of a better word. Hermes when this is over, I would ask a favour of you.”

“Ask.”

“Would you be kind enough to become, Maria’s friend. I need her to be eased into the memories something Persephone should have prepared her for properly.”

Hermes had always been a champion of humans, so with Athena’s request he could hardly say no. He nodded and took the address she gave him.

“Would not seeing the Dikastes return those memories?” Ares asked.

“I am no doctor, but I think if she were to see Kassandra now, it would destroy her. No, if Hermes here were to look after her, and guide those memories safely then it might not shatter her mind completely.”

Hermes nodded a little and agreed to do it.

“Hush all of you” A deep resonate voice broke into their words and all three looked up to see Zeus watching them “We will all discuss this in a moment.”

“It is not for everyone to put an arguement too father.” Athena told him, “This is nothing to do with you.”

If anyone could look beyond the shadow on Ares face, they would have seen a smile curl the upper half of his lip. It seemed daddy’s little girl had grown some balls.

Zeus glared, but, as had been pointed out to him already, this was not his domain, he had no power here. He might well be the king of the gods, but in the underworld, as in the sea realms, he had no power of authority. Zeus was a handsome man, shoulder length brown hair and a well-trimmed, well-groomed beard sat close to his face. His brown eyes roved around the table. He wore a suit, a business suit as this was a business occasion, but he understood this was no family get together. If it were then they would be on Olympus, no this place was chosen by his queen for one reason only, so he couldn’t influence events. Zeus may have had the power of the lord of all gods but he was known to be a control freak. It had caused some concern amongst his siblings and his children, concerned that he, like Juno, would see the humans as nothing more than cattle.

They need not have worried; Zeus was not that anal or cruel. Still even in todays modern world, he still had his roving eye and he still had his numerous affairs, much to the exasperation and annoyance of his wife. It was bad enough he had numerous affairs with the lesser deities of the Olympians, but human women also caught his eye, several times. These resulted in the demi-gods Herakles and Perseus to name but a few. It also caused massive arguments between him and Hera, and whilst Zeus was happy enough to sew his seeds, he was also aware that Hera would torment the offspring.

He cricked his neck and looked up as Hera took her seat beside him. She might be the oldest of the women here, but she was still beautiful, and even though he had his roving eye, he did love Hera, deeply. “Everything all right?” He asked as his beautiful wife took her seat.

“For the moment.” Hera replied.

If any goddess embodied the true nature of a Queen then, it was Hera. She held herself with dignity and a presence that could not be denied. Her temper was to be feared, and most of it was directed at her husband and his flings. Zeus feared no man or no woman, but he sure as hell feared his wifes temper and her jealousy. Hera didn’t just get mean, she got even. Revenge was surely a dish best served cold suited her no end. Her brown hair was short and had a natural wave to it. Her brown eyes sparked a little as she swept them across the room, woe betide anyone who did not give her the proper respect. Hera herself had taken pains to bring to this meeting about, after all it was one of her priestess’s who had corrupted her worship and brought this false god into existence. As well as a fucking former Hetaerae.

She had mourned the decline of their power, not sure if the new religion ever had the best interests of the people at heart. She had observed through the centuries as a lesser known Isu had risen to the throne of the one god. Hera, like her people here, no longer called themselves Isu, they had been the gods of Greece for so long they believed they were Greek. She had seen the abuse of the followers of the one they called simply God or Yahweh or Jehovah both in the past and sometimes in the present. Where other Isu gods had risen and fallen, the children of Olympus remained steadfast. Juno was the last of the Roman Olympia gods, or so they thought, but she was sure there were more of them about, and those Isu were now in control of the on going war between the Templars and the Assassins. She was certain of it. For now, she picked her wine glass up, her gown sitting next to her body like it was moulded around her. Her figure shapely and Zeus, for all his double standards, did not like any man looking upon his wife. For Hera’s credit, whilst the other gods betrayed their oaths to their spouses, she never did and she most certainly never forgave Aphrodite for betraying her son Hephaestus with her son Ares.

Next to Hera was Hephaestus himself. He had always been his mother favourite, broad of shoulder and a ruddy complexion, the god of the forge and volcanoes certainly had a temper. Many of the gods as well as mortals feared what would happen when Hephaestus lost his temper. Many of the fire mountains around the world could explode at any given time, and it was usually when the master of fire had yet again discovered his wifes infidelity. His Black hair was long and tied into a ponytail, his eyes were the colour of fire and his huge arms had been known to break a mortal in two, the gods knew that he could probably break them in two as well if provoked enough. No god could forge any weapon as well as Hephaestus and many of his weapons that he had forged for his family were pride of place in their palaces. Even Ares prided his sword and shield that his brother had made for him, before his affair with his brother’s wife became knowledge. The beard on the volcano gods face was thin but smart. He glared at his brother and shot a look at his wife which made her withdraw her hand. The god of fire was determined to start keeping his wife on a shorter leash, but as always Aphrodite never stayed leashed. If anything, she saw it as a challenge.

Much in the way she wore her clothes too. A halter top that sat off the shoulder and showed way too much cleavage for her husbands liking, breasts that were the first things that men and women saw when they met her and a smile that lit up a room, with a promise of better things to come. Aphrodite was not only far more beautiful than any goddess in this room, but her domain was the one emotion that humans and gods fell sway under. The goddess of love was not slow in putting her love about either. Her green eyes sparkled with untold desires, eyes that could bore into a mans soul or a woman’s and speak of nights of indiscernible passion. Her skin was tanned and perfect not a blemish on her, and her lips full and red. Her black hair sat around her shoulders and hung over her ample chest, currently she was resting her chin on the palm of her hand and listening to Ares. Aphrodite had had many lovers over the centuries, Adonis being one of them, but for some reason, Ares had held her heart fast and she was in love with him, even if it meant bringing humiliation to her husband, but the way she saw it, love was something that could not be caged or commanded when felt like it. It was a free spirit and deserved to be free. She was in part responsible for the famous summer of love and, if truth be told the whole damn decade. Aphrodite had walked the earth more times then any of the gods, she alone knew the heart of men and women. 

Next to Aphrodite sat Poseidon. Lord of the seas and not very close to his brother Zeus, in truth he resented his older brothers need to control everything around him, even to the point of descending to other kingdoms to chastise his brothers. Atlantis may not have existed in the modern world as it once had, but now it was an underground city, hidden from the world so that they could not access the secrets of the first civilisation for their own selfish ends. Poseidon was a giant built man, currently wearing a t-shirt that did nothing to hide his muscled physique. His blonde hair reached to the mid of his waist and his sea green eyes glared around the room. He was the reason the Dikastes and her brother had saved the gods and humanity in the first place. He was the reason that Juno and her blasted husband Altir were gone. He was the reason that the relics and technology of the first civilisation were so far out of humans reaches that they couldn’t blow the fucking world up. He understood why this conclave was called, but he had a suspicion that his brother might try and grand stage it. Woe betide him if he did. Poseidon had a temper on him, more volatile then even his nephew Hephaestus. The oceans reacted to his moods and if he really was having a bad day, he could drown nations.

Next to him sat Apollo, god of the sun. An athletically built god with sun gold hair and dashing good looks. He wore his hair long and his golden eyes burnt with the ferocity of the sun. Of the assembled gods he held the most powerful province. Even today Delphi still held the power of the past and modern seers would await word from him that he still sent periodically. Beside him was his twin sister Artemis, the goddess of the wild and the hunt, and a virgin, even by todays standards that was a miracle.

Artemis’s blonde hair was close cropped to her head and, like her brother she wore a shirt and jeans. Her amber eyes held a wildness that none could compare to, and unlike other gods in this room, she was still venerated, for where the beasts walked in protection from those that would harm them, she held domain. Where they roamed free, she held sway. She was as wild as the lands she claimed and they were not just in Greece but the world over. It might be the reason she had never took a mate, she was too wild for them. She heard Athena’s request and sat forward “Athena.”

“Artemis?”

“Allow me to accompany Hermes, Kyra was one of my people. I might be able to help, once I have been to Phokis, I will be ready.”

“If you think you can sister, then I would appreciate it.” Athena inclined her head; it was obvious that this played on the war goddess’s mind and it struck a chord within Artemis. Hermes nodded in agreement.

“I will wait for you by the docks in Phokis,”

Apollo narrowed his eyes a little and sat forward “Don’t even think of charming my sister into something sinister trickster.”

Hermes put his hand to his heart “I am wounded you would think such a thing brother. Artemis is my sister; I will protect her as much as I would anyone else.”

“I do not need your protection, or your words.” She looked at Apollo “my desires or lack of are nothing to do with you.”

Artemis had loved once, but he had been taken from her before she would even consider breaking her oath. Orion had been her equal but he had been killed by Adonis and she in turn had killed Adonis, after that, she never loved again.

“Yes, let the little virgin do her part.” Aphrodite cooed “She might actually get a sense of letting go of that pent-up sexual frustration she’s been holding onto for the last 6 or 7 thousand years.”

“Says the woman who spreads her legs at any given moment and fucks any cock or cunnie within reach.” Artemis shot back. “The whore of the gods speaks.”

“Enough!” Zeus barked and rubbed his brow the sooner this was done with the sooner he could return to other things.

Beside Artemis and Persephone was Hades, he wore all black, black trouser, black shirt and jacket. He listened to the bickering and shook his head, nearly 10,000 years and they still couldn’t stop the old arguments.

“Brother, sister, nieces and nephews it is time we set aside our differences.” He spoke, his voice was quiet but it carried. “it is time for us to wake up to the world around us and act. We cannot expect the Eagle Bearer and Deimos to do it all.”

“What about that bitch Aspasia?” Demeter asked “She took a theory and made it a god to challenge us”

“She will do her part.” Hera muttered “If she wants peace.”

“So,” Zeus sat forward “I take it this meeting is in order?”

Hades met his brothers gaze “It is, and just a case in point brother, you will remember this is not Olympus and this does not come under your rule, the same with Atlantis, so, no grandstanding, your opinion is welcome but no..i want this and you do that. We are here to discuss our role in ridding the world of these two meddling organisations and how best we help the Eagle-Bearer and her brother.”

Hades drummed his fingers on his table and looked at Hera who nodded, he motioned with his hand to signify her to speak.

“We are also going to aid with the founding of a new order, one that could see us return to our rightful places.” Hera sat forward “our own cults rise again if you like, but this time we will do it right.”

Silence descended at the queens words and no one knew what to say.


	15. A Family to be proud off.

“A new order?” Alexios looked at his sister in confusion as Aspasia’s words sank in “A new cult? The worlds got enough of them Aspasia, mainly with men proclaiming themselves to be God or the Son of God, then they brainwash their flock into doing things that mark them out as fanatics.”

“That is their god and their twisted beliefs, I am talking about our gods.”

“Oh, so they are _our_ gods now?” Kassandra got up “Well they are mine and Alexios’s but not yours.”

“You know nothing of my life since the old world.” Aspasia narrowed her eyes “So don’t try to understand my reasoning.”

Kassandra scratched her head and gave Aspasia a look, a look that she only ever reserved for those who pissed her off. “I don’t want to understand your reasoning. I just know that you think you know everything when in fact you don’t know as much as you think you do. This.” She picked up the letter mentioning Stentor’s name “This I believe, you wanting to bring the gods back into a formal religion? That I don’t believe.” She crossed to her door and opened it “You need to leave now.”

Aspasia didn’t move, instead she sat back in her seat and crossed her legs, “Kyra is alive as is Daphne, somewhere in the world is Alkibiades, even Barnabas and Phoibe, amongst others.”

Alexios turned in his seat and saw his sisters expression. Getting up he put a hand on his sisters shoulder to prevent her from hitting Aspasia. He knew that in the romantic stakes, his sisters life had not been what one would want.

“You are telling us that the gods have resurrected certain people?” Alexios lowered his voice a little “why?”

“Who knows why the gods do what they do?” Kassandra snarled “But how would you know this?”

“There is a threat to the balance of the world, from both the Templars and the Assassins.” Aspasia told them “More so since Stentor became the CEO, Chief whip, big cheese of Abstergo, but you can’t take him out now, as powerful as you both are, as strong as you both are, he is protected by Hekate. The times you have both fallen only to get up and walk away when others have not, he does that too. This is going to take time. Find our friends bring the gods of Olympus back into a place they deserve to be, and then, then we will be ready to take on Abstergo.”

“And the Assassins? We have friends in them.” Alexios whispered dangerously.

“Even the Assassins have lost their way. They need to be re-educated, instead of relying on the technology they want to covert as much as Abstergo do, they need to remember why it was Aya and Bayek formed the hidden ones in the first place. You know Aya Kassandra, she was your great-great-great-great…” Aspasia closed one eye and counted a little “Granddaughter, with a couple more greats in-between.”

Kassandra went back to the door and opened it “I need to think about this, I think you should leave now.” Aspasia arched an eyebrow “I said leave.” Kassandra repeated with an edge to her tone that suggested she might well throw the woman out by the scruff of her fancy neck if she still refused.

Aspasia got up and set her glass down. “When you have, thought about it,” She handed Kassandra a business card “Or, made your own enquiries, contact me and we will put this in motion.”

Kassandra tossed the card onto the side table and once Aspasia had left, she slammed the door shut behind her. Alexios finished his drink and got his jacket. “I will go make some, discreet enquiries amongst our…friends.”

“Why?” Kassandra’s eyebrow quirked a bit.

“Because no matter what we might think of her, she is right about one thing. Somewhere along the line, the assassins forgot that they were preventing the Templars new world order from existing and started concentrating on hoarding Isu relics.”

“That would be William Miles then.” Kassandra sighed “Ever since Desmond died, he is obsessed with it.”

“Yeah and we know what happened the last few times the Assassins went off track.” Alexios lent in and kissed his sisters cheek. “I’ll be in touch soon. Try to get some sleep, look at this with a clearer head in the morning.”

“Do you really think that the gods are emptying souls of Elysium?” She asked him, knowing her brother would give her his honest opinion.

Alexios shrugged and was silent for a moment, the thought going through his mind. It was a while before he answered and picking his car keys up and fiddled with them for the moment. “I think the gods have been asleep too long. I think they do not know the extent of how far the world has fallen from what it was, and I think they have allowed elements of their race to run roughshod. If what she says is true then Hekate gave Stentor a power he should never have had, and if the gods are trying to make up for the mistakes of their own, then yes, they might well send the dead back to the world of the living.” Alexios put his hand to Kassandra’s cheek and stroked it a moment “There is a old temple in Phokis, to Artemis I have been there a couple of times, it is preserved and hidden from the world. Go there, see if the virgin goddess will answer your prayer. As for Aspasia, then we just take what she has said with a pinch of salt, until then, we just do what we can.”

Oh, she was going to take anything that woman said with a pinch of salt. Except Stentor, something she now asked her brother. Alexios rubbed his brow and shrugged a little “Let me make my enquiries and then if needs be, we go to Paris and stake it out.”

“Chaire Alexios.”

“Chaire Kass.” He walked out and she waved him off.

_ROME, 13AD_

_So, this was this was the empire that had the world trembling. The new Persia, as was explained to her. The eternal city, so far, she was not impressed. She had never seen a need for such expansion, as much as she admired Alexander for all he achieved, even he reached too far for the sun and got burnt. This was just another reason why a great empire should not exist. They overstretched themselves, and treated the people who came into that empire with disdain. _

_Slavery she got, she didn’t much like it, but she understood it, but even in her youth slaves were treated with a modicum of respect, especially in Sparta, they provided the workforce and the food to feed the Spartan war machine, and in times of war the Helots would serve in the army, they could earn their freedom then. _

_Rome on the other hand, she flinched as he saw the lions eat those who did not conform to this empires ideology, or had upset the Emperor. Her gaze flitted to the Emperors seat and she watched as he whispered to the guard beside him. She had learnt a lot when she arrived here, that to ensure himself long life, the Emperor had to ensure the army was paid, and that meant the Praetorian guard. Oh, sure there were elements in her worlds army who were corrupt, the number of soldiers she had killed that worked with the Cult of Kosmos was tester mount to that, but this, this was a whole new level of corruption. _

_Kassandra Agiad looked around her trying to tune out the bloodthirsty crowd as they hollered for more, the sound of lions eating and the screams as some of them were eaten alive. He was well protected. Not here then, she was not here to kill him, that would be someone else’s’ job, no she was here to meet someone, special. That was who she was looking for. _

_She climbed to the top of the Colosseum and perched on a ledge scanning the city below her. Then above her and saw them. The hidden ones, moving as one. She watched as they took up positions that blocked most of the Emperors routes. She had to admire their strategy and the way they moved. She wasn’t looking for them though and they would either succeed or fail. The first Emperor of Rome had started off well, but he was failing and all he had left was the Praetorian Guard protecting him from the wrathful citizens who felt that his abandoning of the Republic and proclaiming himself Emperor for life, was a bad move. The Eagle Bearer wondered how long it would be before the bodyguard turned on their paymaster too. _

_Kassandra raised her arm and a beautiful Golden Eagle came into land and perched itself on her forearm, nuzzling her ear with her head. This was a child of Ikarus who had found her a few years ago. Kassandra had long since said goodbye to her beloved companion and friend, yet it seemed that his descendants found her. This one she had named Diana, after the roman goddess of the hunt. Just as she had met the Greek God in varying forms, she had also met the Roman gods, more Isu rebels against the order of Juno, even if she was one of theirs. _

_“Well my friend.” She scratched Diana’s head “let’s see if I can find this Amunet. I need your vision” _

_The eagle flew up and, through her own connection with Ikarus’s bloodline the eagles sight became hers. The beautiful creature flew over the city allowing Kassandra to see everything she needed to see. It took a little while, but eventually she found what she was looking for, and, as the battle between the assassins and the Roman elite began the Spartan swan dived off the top of the Colosseum and down to ground level. _

_“Let’s see if family still means anything in this day and age, shall we?” _

_Amunet paced the length of the bureau waiting for news from her people. How long had she walked this path of vengeance? Too long it seemed. When she had become Amunet she had given up her old life, she had died as Aya and been reborn as Amunet, who in time would become one of the greatest Assassins ever known. She didn’t get here by herself; she was aware what had started her on this path to vengeance. The murder of her beloved Khemu, and the work she had done with her one true love Bayek. But, as was the way with the Hidden ones, as much as they wanted to remain as one true force, they could not. Aya had to die to be reborn as Amunet, the scared blade. In doing so, she had to say goodbye to that life, to her husband. Setting him free as she herself had to be set free. _

_It still hurt though, even now, years after the fact to know that he was still put there, maybe warming another’s bed, some part of her still hurt. This was the sacrifice they had to make though and it was one that neither of them could walk away from. She turned to see Caesarion walk in and bow his head. “The Praetorian have been ended, mother.” _

_Amunet cocked her head slightly, fondness creeping across her otherwise stern features. He had not come from her womb, he had come from the seed of Cesare and the womb of Cleopatra, but she had taken him, as a last mercy to the last Queen of Egypt. Raised him as her own, and Caesarion was as much her son as Khemu had been. She had trained him herself, guided him herself and now he was turning into a fine young man. Still young, he would be the next leader to take the fight to those who would harm innocents. Bayek had been his surrogate uncle and he had returned from training in Siwa with “Uncle Bayek” a stronger man. Many of the Hidden ones now saw him as her son, and not the son of the Queen who betrayed them. _

_“Your Hidden ones were well trained. I can see Darius’s teachings have stood the test of time.” _

_Amunet turned at the sound of the lowered voice and arched an eyebrow at the hooded figure who seemingly walked in past her security unmolested. “You speak of Darius as if you knew him stranger. Which I find hard to believe as he died long ago.” _

_Under the shadow of the cowl a smile curled the features of the stranger. Putting her fingers either side of the hood, she pulled it down to reveal her Sunkissed complexion, brown hair that had not changed in style since she was a teenager, scars from battles too numerous to mention and a broken spear over her shoulder. To add emphasis the eagle flew in and landed on her shoulder as if she belonged there. _

_“That’s because I did know him.” Kassandra whispered “For I am the Eagle Bearer.” She saw the shocked expressions on the faces of not just Caesarion but Amunet too. “I am also the mother of Elpidious and I suppose that makes you my granddaughter, Aya.” _

_Amunet did not move for a long while. She had heard tales of the mysterious Eagle Bearer of Sparta, the Demi-god that hunted the members of the Order of Ancients wherever they may be. It was true enough but now to hear that this was her ancient Grandmother was something else. _

_“We have much to talk about.” _

_“Yes.” Amunet, Aya whispered and took the Spartans hand, feeling Kassandra’s other hand lay over hers. “yes, we do.” _

_Aya laughed as Kassandra told her some old stories and told her of Darius and hers first meeting. A bonding of sorts had been made and, once the other members of the Hidden Order returned, they too, shocked as they were at first at who sat in their midst, joined in the conversastion. _

_“Darius wrote down your story Kassandra.” One of the women told her. _

_“I am sorry I am not familiar with your accent, where are you from?” _

_“I am Telia, I was brought to Rome as a slave from the land of mist, rain and Druids. The Romans call that land Britannia.” _

_“Ah a Briton. My apologies, my journeys have not yet taken me there.”_

_“Go there, my land is wild as it is beautiful. Did the gods truly make you immortal?” _

_Kassandra picked the wine up and sipped it. “I am not entirely human. I am part Isu, a Hybrid, an experiment created by those who created the pieces of Eden. I am also the Keeper of the Staff of Hermes Trismegistus and until my task is complete, I will walk the earth.” _

_“Is it a lonely life and why did you give up your son?” Aya asked, curiously. She had heard the tales, the boy raised by Darius, his grandson, continuing his grandfather’s work until Aya came along and with Bayek, turned it into something else. _

_“I never wanted to give Elpidious up.” Kassandra’s brow furrowed and a dark cloud passed over her face. “But it became apparent that the Order of Ancients would never stop, never leave him alone if they knew I was still alive, for I was a tainted one, a chaos bringer in their eyes. So, I told Darius to take him and to teach him. I also made a promise that although I would never see him again, I would fight for him, for his children and for those who came after. I keep that promise. I loved him as much as you loved your son and love your son.” _

_“Will you work with us Eagle Bearer; we seek to end Augustus for his connections to the order?” Caesarion asked. _

_“No, I came to meet my descendant and I have done that. You will not get him yet. He will be heavily protected, but the weight of public opinion is against him. Give it a year, when even his guard have deserted him and he shall be yours. Your rules of living and working from the shadows and no harming innocents will not be broken then. Learn his surroundings and how best to use it.” She rested her hand over Amunets “You have my blood in your veins Amunet of Alexandria, it is powerful blood use it to its fullest extent.” Kassandra rose from her seat and pulled her hood over her eyes “and know that I will watch over you and those who come after you, no matter how long that will take.” _

_Amunet rose from her seat and rested her hands on her grandmother’s shoulder “I am glad we have met, may the gods guide your path, Kassandra of Sparta…grandmother. I hope your line has made you proud for we have always protected the weak,” _

_Kassandra drew her into a hug then nodded once and was gone. _

Kassandra woke and heading into the bathroom, used the toilet and began to run a bath. She had tracked Aya’s descendants. She had another child by an Israelite and Kassandra had tracked the lineage. Caesarion had fathered a couple of sons and a daughter and his line were now the Assassins of the Mediterranean. Bayek had a daughter who went on to lead the Assassins who would eventually became those of Altair and many believed that Altair was a descendant of Bayek, it wouldn’t have surprised her. She made a coffee and then sank into the hot water.

They had been an order dedicated to what they believed in, sure they were at war with the Templars, that much had not changed, but nowadays they were obsessed with the pieces of Eden, of which there were many. Juno knew what she was doing. Thing is could she trust the Assassins when they were after the pieces of Eden for the same reason the Templars were, to control the world. No matter how much they denied it, their actions in the last decade had said otherwise.

They had no idea how powerful those artefacts were, and if they wanted an idea, they only had to look at Layla Hussain’s fate to see for themselves. She didn’t believe Aspasia at all but, she did know that the Hidden Ones were not what they once were, she would look into that first before she did anything else.


	16. In the presence of a goddess

Daphne must have knelt in prayer for hours, all she knew was, when she was finished the sun was rising once more and the She-Wolf was nursing her cubs, watching the human within her sanctuary warily. Daphne stretched and rubbed her neck a little, then looked over at the wolf. “I thankyou for your kindness mother wolf.” She smiled a little, “I will take my leave now and leave you in the care of the great Huntress.” She glanced at the young cubs, suckling from their mothers teats. “and may your children run with the pack or forge their own packs and continue their mothers strong line.”

She bowed her head and getting to her feet walked out into the bright sunshine. She closed her eyes for a moment as the light invaded her senses too quickly, blinking a couple of times to get her vision straight. She walked over to her car, reached in and taking her backpack took out a sandwich box and took out a roll and munched on it. Maybe it had been too long, maybe the gods were asleep now, like all things, even their reign had to come to an end.

Reaching in she took a bottle of orange juice and had a long swallow from that. If that was the case, then why was she still alive? Had the virgin goddess forgotten about her, the last remaining Daughter of Artemis? She looked at the wildlife that still claimed dominance in this part of Greece, a beautiful white Deer ran past her followed by others and she smiled a little to herself and went back to having her breakfast. The only place in the world that she knew off that still had White Deer.

“This is still a beautiful place is it not?”

Daphne turned to see a woman with long blonde hair, a pair of sunglasses and one of those tourists type long bags that held towels and other things in them. She was wearing a pair of skin tight jeans and a t-shirt that did nothing to hide her voluptuous figure approach her. Daphne nodded in agreement, the woman looked no older than maybe 30, she was attractive there was no denying that.

The woman watched the She-Wolf leave the ancient temple and cocked her head a little, the wolf led her young out and stopped then walked over to the newcomer. Daphne grew concerned, the wolves here were still as ferocious as they had been when she was a younger woman and she was about to warn the woman to stay still when the newcomer crouched down and held her hand out.

“It takes one of my children to recognise me does it not?” she muttered as she allowed the wolf to sniff her then stroked her head. “It is nice to see some of my children still have places they can call reign over.” She got to her feet and looked at Daphne who was now staring at the woman as if she had just met the almighty himself, or in Daphne’s case, herself.

The woman removed her sunglasses to reveal a pair of golden eyes, as golden as the sun itself. “My temple is the only one left in tact is it not Daphne of Phokis, Daughter of Artemis, the last remaining true Daughter.”

“My – My lady,” Daphne moved to one knee and bowed her head “It has been so long my lady I thought you were all sleeping.”

Artemis reached out and taking Daphne’s hand pulled her to her feet. “Not sleeping child, just observing the world change. Come with me into the town, you can buy me breakfast and we will talk.”

Daphne blinked several times and nodded, not sure if she had heard correctly but not one to disobey her goddess, she showed her into the car, got in and pulled away.

Kirra was as beautiful as she was charming. Daphne had not been here in many years, not since she fought in the battles to free Greece from the Ottoman Empires grip on her native lands. Sitting in a café near the beach front, Daphne took time to reacquaint herself with the former gateway to Delphi. Artemis ordered a traditional Greek breakfast, Bougatsa as did Daphne, somehow it always tasted better at the coast, something Daphne had picked up from a British mercenary who had fought alongside her. He said that food always tasted better from his hometown on the south coast of England. Daphne had found it amusing, but he was right, maybe it was the sea air, who knew.

“When did you wake from your slumber?” Artemis asked once she had finished her breakfast and sat with a tea in her hands.

“Sometime in the 1700’s” Daphne told her lady and picked her coffee up and sipped it. “I was in the thick of the war for independence, much like it was when the Persians tried that trick.”

Artemis nodded and set her cup down. “The Eagle Bearer still lives.”

Daphne raised her gaze and looked over the rim of her mug, meeting those beautiful gold eyes with her own amber coloured eyes. “I suspected as much,” She quietly said.

“Do you still want to kill her?” Artemis asked, somewhat directly and to the point, but then the goddess of the hunt was never one for dancing around the issue.

Daphne cleared her throat, it had gone somewhat dry, she swallowed some more coffee and ended up draining her cup, so ordered another.

Did she really want to kill the Eagle Bearer? After all this time? Did her anger still sit with her after all that had happened between then and now? She heaved a sigh. “No” Daphne shook her head “I have heard of the most amazing things about her, although I must admit, I was not sure it was her until now.”

Artemis folded her arms and lent on the table. She waited for the waitress to leave and looked around her, some of the tourists were on their way towards the Delphi ruins. Her brothers temple had been silent for many a year. In time it would speak again.

“When Kassandra arrives, meet with her at my temple, she will need all the help she can get, and preferably from those she trusts.”

Daphne pulled a face, the last things she had said to the Misthios had not been kind, and she was not sure things between them would be so, cut and dry. “May I ask why?”

Artemis looked at Daphne for a long time. “To fight this new war, the old must reawaken, but move with the times. Hekate is the threat and she is hell bent on controlling both sides of this old and tiresome war.”

“What war?” Daphne frowned.

“Kassandra will fill you in.” Artemis sat back, and after a moment rose to her feet, picked her bag up and put her sunglasses on. “She will be here soon enough; you will recognise her as surely as she will recognise you. Remember what I told you Daphne, and if at the end of this you wish to return to your sleep on a more, permanent basis then I will grant you that and you will re-join your sisters.”

Daphne’s eyebrows climbed to the top of her head and she rose a little as the goddess, her goddess her most sacred and loved woman of Olympus walked away. Daphne sat back down and looked at he watch. Wondering if it was too early for a drink. Meet with the Eagle Bearer? Talk with her? Well that was going to be a real awkward conversastion.

Artemis hopped onto the launch and sat herself down, she lay back on the lounger and waited, noting the way the boat seemed to sit on the water but not completely on it, almost as if it glided a little in some unearthly way, but then this was a boat of the gods. She glanced over her shoulder to see Charon at the helm, dressed in a smart captains uniform but with the tattoos of his order of Ferrymen stark on his face. Hades had seen fit to allow the lord of the Ferrymen to come to the mortal realm to transport the gods, so they didn’t have to sit with the mortals if they did not want to. Hermes sat himself beside her and rolled his shoulders a little.

“Did your meeting with Daphne go well?”

“We shall see.” Artemis sighed and raised a leg “Where to?”

“Delos” Hermes told her “Then onto Mykonos.”

“and how do you propose easing the memories safely through without breaking her mind even more than it is at the moment?”

“I don’t know, but if I follow Athena’s guidelines while she deals with other things, then maybe we can help her,”

“and if we can’t?”

Hermes shrugged sadly “I do not know; she would not be able to aid Hera if we don’t.”

Artemis sat up and swung her legs round. “Then the kindest things to do, would be to erase those memories and install new ones, to allow her to live in peace elsewhere, live out her days.”

Hermes ran a hand down his face “Yeah, well, lets just hope it does not come to that.”


	17. Daphne and Kassandra

Kassandra stepped off the island ferry and stretched a little. She didn’t come here very much and yet when she did, she always found herself thinking back to when she was chasing down the cult, often her mind would replay chasing Elpenor through the streets. She had seen the cur again when she had descended into Hades, apparently, he was trying to, make his soul clean. She didn’t know if that would ever work, Hades was always reluctant to let his pets go. The snake indeed, he deserved that frigging name.

Kas slung her bag over her shoulder and put her hand in her jacket pocket, come to Phokis she had been told, not sure why she should come here but Aspasia was, most insistent. Kas took a slow walk from the dock and glanced at the stalls as she walked by. She was about to turn on the path that led from the docks when an old but familiar voice called her name.

“Long time Eagle Bearer, won’t you join me for a coffee?”

Time seemed to slow around the Spartan, as the woman spoke. Kas turned and faced the woman who called her by her old name, and for a moment everything seemed to slow to a halt as her memory took her back.

_“I told you, what would happen to you if ever I saw you again!”_

_“I am not here for that Daphne.” Kassandra kept her arms outstretched, her eyes not only on the leader of the Daughters of Artemis, but her sisters too. _

_It had been a mistake to return here, to ask their help, but she was looking for the daughter of the King of Sparta, her fascination with the warrior women had meant she had vanished and the King was insistent that his daughter be brought home, the only person who might know where she was, was Kassandra’s ex-lover, who was not happy to see her, then again the Eagle Bearer was not happy about being here either. _

_“You shamed me!” Daphne pointed out “I told you I would kill you if I saw you again and here you are.”_

_“I am looking for Stella, she is the daughter of the King of Sparta, I’ve come to take her home.” _

_“She is not here.” Daphne folded her arms “and if she was, I wouldn’t tell you, once you give yourself to the Daughters and once you give yourself to Artemis you can never go back on that.” _

_“You really going to risk the wrath of Sparta on this?”_

_“What do I care for the wrath of Sparta?” Daphne gripped her bow “She’s not here.”_

Kassandra blinked a couple of times, Stella had indeed given herself to the Daughters and when Kassandra had returned to the King, he had not been happy to hear it, but even the King of Sparta would not go against the will of a goddess, no matter what his desires. All he could do was accept that his daughter was lost to him.

Kassandra did not know what had happened to Stella, she had heard rumours, that she had led an attack on the Persians, that she had killed Athenians daring to try and take more of the Daughters hunting grounds. She didn’t know, she just remembered the old mans face as he had to accept his daughter was lost to him.

Time moved around her again and yet Daphne remained where she was. Kass arched an eyebrow and lowered her bag off her shoulder “Daphne?”

“For my sins. Come on, I have a table.” Daphne turned to return to her table, when Kassandra didn’t follow her, she looked back “I think it’s a little late for old grudges Eagle Bearer, three thousand years too late.”

Kass pulled a face and heaving a sigh she followed the former Daughter of Artemis leader. When she joined her at her table she stood for a moment before sitting down. Kass had been told she would see people she knew, first Aspasia and now Daphne, two of her ex-lovers? Were the Gods having some sort of time-controlled joke with her? “So, how comes you are still alive?” Kass asked once she had her coffee ordered.

“I was asleep.” Daphne sat back “My sisters put me in a cave and left me there, guarded me until there was no one left to guard me. I woke up a couple hundred years ago or maybe three. The world has changed and not for the better.” Daphne let a wry smile cross her face “Given all I have seen; I think I preferred it as it was when it was our world.”

Kass made a murmur of agreement. There were times when she would rather it was still, their world. “So, are we to continue our argument?”

“Would it do any good Eagle Bearer?”

“I have not gone by that name in a long time Daphne.”

“Ok then how about Misthios?”

“Long passed.”

“The Keeper?” Kassandra frowned. “West Wind?”

“Have we crossed paths before?”

“Yes, but you didn’t see me and I had no inclination to let you know I was there.” Daphne looked out to sea “Your legend spreads far and wide amongst the hidden ones.”

Now Kassandra’s eyebrows rose higher on her brow then lowered into a puzzled frown. How was it that she had not crossed paths with Daphne before? And she knew about the Hidden Ones, the old name for the Assassins.

“Oh, come on Kassandra, they are not as big a secret as they want to be.” Daphne waved her hand flippantly. “Look Artemis decided that I was to aid you, once that is done then I can return to my sisters in the hunting fields of hers on Olympus.”

“I don’t even know what it is I am supposed to do.” Kassandra sighed and picked up her cup “I just know that my brother Alexios is part of it and my adopted brother Stentor is the enemy.”

“Stentor? From what I heard of him; he was kicked out of Sparta.”

“Surprised you even knew about that?”

“Army men gossip and Spartans gossip a lot about exiled Spartans. Mainly who was going to take their heads for betraying Sparta,” Daphne shrugged “How comes he is still alive.”

“Hekate kept him alive, she has a grudge against me.”

Daphne laughed “By the gods Kassandra when you make enemies, you don’t make them light do you.”

“No” Kassandra shook her head and looked around her. She was relieved to see that Daphne was more amenable to her, and didn’t want to kill her, that didn’t mean that she wouldn’t want to do that at a later stage if it meant she got to join her sisters.

She had no wish to fight Daphne again, ever if the truth be told. Some battles were best left in the past, given half the chance she would have left this one with Stentor alone, but that battle was more personal, deeply personal to her, he had murdered her best friend, right in front of her eyes. If she didn’t believe she was truly a Spartan, she believed it now. Her hatred for Stentor had driven her through the ages, the feeling that she had not avenged Barnabas in the way she should have done. The slap in the face he had given her father when he brought him into his family. She didn’t like the idea of working with Aspasia, but she did like the idea of working with Daphne, if the former Daughter of Artemis would leave the past behind them.

“So, what is it we are doing, aside from stopping Stentor?” Daphne’s voice brought Kassandra out of her musing.

“Apparently paving the way for the return of the gods.” She muttered. “and starting a new order, one that will keep the Assassins and Templars in line.”

“Oh, nothing to serious then.” Daphne exhaled “Might explain why Artemis is walking the earth.”

“You have seen her?” Kassandra hissed.

“Yeah, just before I saw you.” Daphne took a hip flask from her jacket and tipped a little of the contents into her cup and one into Kassandra’s “perhaps you need to start again and tell me what you know.”

“Going to need more than a doctored coffee for that. Drink up, I know a bar here that we can go into. Trust me Daphne you are going to need a long drink.”

Daphne gave her a sceptical look but finished her coffee and getting up with Kassandra walked towards the bar.


End file.
